Assassin Guardians
by earlymorninglight12
Summary: Paul, Drew, Ash, and Gary; trained assassins since the age of 5. But they're on their most challenging missions yet: to kill Dawn, May, Misty, and Leaf. Will they succeed or spare the girls' lives, risking their own lives? IKARI, CONTEST, POKE, OLDRIVAL
1. A Beginning

Thank you, all that reviewed on my poll! Well, here's the story the majority was waiting for: Assassin Guardians! Originally known as Love Overcomes Everything, but my friend said the title didn't quite fit the plot (since I told her everything) and so I decided to change it! In my opinion, it's better, but if you like, you can call it Love Overcomes Everything as long as you know what you're talking about!

**_Yay, this is my thirteenth story and it fits this story! You'll see why later._**

Summary: Paul, Drew, Ash, and Gary are trained assassins since the age of five years old. They're assigned a mission to kill four girls and head to a community to do so, thinking it will be easy. But it isn't as easy as you would expect. They're caught by this; how are they supposed to kill the girls they love? But if not, they'll be caught and killed themselves by either the police or their leader, so what will the boys pick? A momentary period of time with the ones they love, or kill them and get over it, not jeopardizing their own safety?

* * *

_Follow my footsteps_

_To the darkest domain_

_A place of hatred and death_

_Of sorrow and pain_

_Here amidst the fire_

_Four boys lay_

_Their sleep disturbed_

_By the price they paid_

_Killing and slashing _

_Is what they do_

_No mercy or compassion_

_Will they give you_

_Trained from the age of five_

_They've hardened their hearts_

_Against emotion and love_

_Since their hearts are apart_

_Parents who left them_

_Giving pain beyond compare_

_Cutting their hearts _

_Way beyond repair_

_Turning them to heartless boys_

_Who would kill without regret_

_Making them feel all alone_

_But they're not in despair yet._

_One thing the ice_

_Cannot stand against; melts to_

_Is a blazing fire_

_Of love and truth_

* * *

"Are you kidding me? We could never fall for a girl!" a tall, auburn-haired boy with a spiky mane of hair scoffed to his friend, his night-black eyes scorning. He was currently wearing a dark purple shirt and black pants.

"I never said that!" his friend defended. He was pretty tall as well, with messy black hair under a baseball cap. On his shoulder was a Plump Mouse Pokémon, a Pikachu. His dark eyes were bright. "I just said _I wonder if a girl would fall for us_." A short-sleeved blue and white jacket with a black shirt inside, along with jeans, was his clothes.

"Of course a girl would fall for us," another boy, the same age as the two boys before, smirked, flicking his hair to the side. It was a light green color while his arrogant smirk was across his dark green eyes as well. He was wearing dark green pants and a long-sleeved black shirt."I mean, we're popular, handsome, perfect, amazing…"

"Don't let that get into your head," the last boy grunted. He was the oldest of the four boys but only by a few months. Their age was fifteen. He had plum-colored hair and dark, cold onyx eyes with a permanent frown on his face, but he was liable to smirk instead of smile or grin like the first or the second boy. He was also the tallest, but again by only a little bit. He was currently wearing a dark blue jacket with navy on it, a dark blue-gray shirt underneath it, along with gray pants.

"Why not?" the first boy asked snidely.

"Shut up, Gary," the second boy said, exasperated. "Don't get too cocky. Our next mission is going to be anyday yet."

"Whatever, Ashy-boy. Anyone else excited?" Gary Oak asked.

"Excited? Sure, whatever," the green-haired boy smirked.

"If you _can_ be excited, Drew," 'Ashy-boy', or Ash Ketchum as he was named, pointed out. Drew Hayden shrugged.

"How about you, Paul?" Gary asked.

"It's just killing," Paul Ikari shrugged. "Whatever."

"_Boys in Unit One! Come down to the Commander! Boys in Unit One, come down to the Commander."_

"Oh, there's our call. C'mon." Gary picked up the lead and walked down the hallway down to the Commander's office. Drew, Ash, and Paul followed silently.

They were in the group called simply the 'Assassins'. They were well-known as merciless people who would kill without a second thought. These boys, Paul, Drew, Ash, and Gary, were trained personally by the Commander to not feel any emotion and to kill expertly without being traced. So far, ten years and the Commander's seeds have grown. The boys, who were known as the Ice-Types, had done their job easily and without restraint. Naturally, the Commander favored them the most.

Paul, who was the leader of the 'Ice-Types', was cold and apathetic. His onyx eyes and lightly tanned face never showed emotion other than annoyance, disgust, irritation, or a smirk once in a while. The group had never seen Paul smile, and they had known each other since birth. Never had he laughed either. He was the type to merely go up, corner their target, and slash without a second thought. Paul was best friends with Drew, and his identification name was Shadow during 'missions'.

Drew was arrogant. He didn't usually get angry, and only Paul, Ash, and Gary had ever seen him furious enough to kill (even though he kills anyways). His emerald eyes were too dark to distiguish much emotion. Smirking instead of grinning was what he usually did, but a grin here and there wasn't uncommon. Drew laughed more easily than Paul but not as much as Gary or Ash. Drew was the type for girls, because he would merely charm them, bring them on a date or meet them, and then kill them. Drew was best friends with Paul, and his identification name was Forest.

Ash was cheerful and easy to delight. But don't get him wrong; it was merely a decoy and meant to dislead the victim. No regrets were part of his system; all he had was cheerfulness that was genuine. Ash didn't often get angry, even though he was the most 'emotional' of the group. He's pretty friendly and often dense, but he's _much_ smarter than he seems just to throw the victim off track. He grinned often and laughed whenever anything was remotely funny but was indifferent to the accusing stares of people. Ash was best friends with Gary and his identification name was Sky.

Gary was overconfident, but not so much that he would fail in a mission. To sum it up, he was arrogant. He was a playboy but he took his job seriously. Again, he had no regrets and killed easily and skillfully. He smirked a lot and mocked quite commonly. Gary had the same charm as Drew did, a bit more if Drew didn't kill him first. He was best friends with Ash and his identification name was Auburn.

"So, what's our mission?" Ash asked eagerly to the Commander, who was behind a shadow of a curtain so even they didn't know the identity of a Commander.

"It's simple," the Commander said in a quiet and sly voice. "Just hunt down the daughter of that gym leader Volkner. He has just trespassed a violation of the Assassin organization, and you know what that means." The boys snickered.

"He's going to pay; the hard way!" they chorused. Since just killing Volkner wouldn't be enough, they had to kill his daughter to cause him more pain. Call them cruel, and they'd just laugh it off before stabbing you in the heart.

I bet you you're thinking '_now that's sure pleasant'_, but remember, these aren't labeled the _Assassins_, or the _Ice-Types_ for nothing.

"But I don't need all of you to go," the Commander continued. "Anyways, this is sort of a side job. You have a major one that involves four hard people." Ash's eyes shined.

"How hard is it?" he inquired eagerly.

"Well, these are hard girls to crack," the Commander said. The boys could just hear a shrug in his voice.

"Girls?" Drew repeated in disappointment. "Gary and I'll just land them and slash their hearts out. Simple. Why are they hard?" The Commander chuckled.

"It's not that easy, Forest, Auburn. How about Sky and Auburn go hunt down Amariah (A/N: Hebrew name that means 'lightning') and Shadow and Forest look at the profiles of the girls?"

"Works for me," Gary shrugged. "Let's go, Ashy-boy." Ash grinned and high-fived him.

"I call first hit!" he exclaimed.

"That's no fair!" Gary protested, running after his friend. "We have 100% accuracy, remember?"

"Too bad! You got that last time so I call it first!" Ash yelled back. Drew and Paul rolled their eyes.

"Well, let's go see who they are," Paul suggested. "Commander, what are the names?"

"The names?" the Commander sounded surprised. "Oh, the names of the girls."

"Yes, those names." Drew rolled his eyes. "Would you mind telling us why we have to hunt them down?" A low snicker was heard from the Commander's side and Paul and Drew exchanged an uneasy look.

"Oh, I'm sure you'd actually _want_ to kill these girls," the Commander said slyly.

"Why?" Paul demanded. Another harsh snicker filled the room.

"Why, boys, didn't you always bear a grudge against those who killed your parents?"

* * *

"So, we're heading to Sunyshore, right?" Gary asked Ash.

"Seems like it!" Ash said cheerfully. He readied the weapon in his hand as they walked in the shadows.

"What are you doing here with a weapon? Aren't you under the age of eighteen?" a policeman cam out of the shadows suddenly. Gary immediately slashed forward with a knife and the policeman could only utter an "Assassin!" before breathing no more.

"That was sure easy," Gary shrugged. "I thought they trained policemen better than that."

"So, we leave our mark?" Ash asked.

"Why not?" Gary shrugged once more. He took out a Poké Ball-shaped item and opened it. An 'A' shaped piece of NeverMeltIce was inside and Gary pressed it to the dead policeman's forehead. "There ya go. Not going to disappear as easy."

"Let's go now," Ash grinned. "I'd like to see how the Electric-type Gym looks like."

"It's probably like a Dark-type gym now," Gary snickered. They laughed and continued on their way, kicking the policeman's body into the street.

They reached the gym and true to Gary's guess, the gym was dark. But the boys could make out a bit of light from the second level and they nodded at each other.

"Remember, I get the first hit!" Ash hissed.

"Oh, whatever," Gary grumbled. "I'll be there to hit your back." Ash grinned and climbed up the wall to the second level. Gary climbed up the wall to the roof to watch Ash's back like he had said.

Then he felt a text on his phone. Turning it on, Gary saw it was from Drew and Paul.

"Wonder what they want…" Gary muttered, looking at the text.

* * *

"Our parents were killed?" Paul managed to say.

"I thought they just left us!" Drew snarled, gripping his switchblade in his left hand.

"Of course not…they were killed and these girls are the daughters of the murderers of your parents," the Commander purred. Paul's grip on his dagger hilt tightened.

"Seems like we aren't the only ones who murdered in our lifetimes," Drew tried to joke, but his voice was wavering.

"What are the names?" Paul spat out. The Commander laughed.

"Hold on, hold on," the Commander told him, laughing. "Someone sure is ready to kill." Paul gritted his teeth. "Here are the names."

Drew grabbed the piece of paper and pulled his friend to their room where he logged onto the informational computer.

"What's your deal?" Drew hissed at his friend. Paul ignored Drew and typed in the first girls' name. The name was Mistia Waterflower.

"The last name sounds familiar," Paul said, not paying attention to Drew. "Waterflow, Waterflower. The girl is the daughter of Serenity, who was killed in a fight to the death with an unidentified personnel. Mistia's nickname is Misty, and she has three older sisters who are famous in the world. Look up the sisters, we might have to kill them too." Drew nodded and went on his own computer.

"Waterflower Sisters, also known as the Sensational Sisters. They're famous in the acting business and modeling as well. Apparently quite the lookers and they outshine their young sister quite easily."

"Mistia seems to have the love of swimming. She's afraid of carrots, peppers, and bugs. Also is a tomboy; but is a romance freak. Her nickname, and common name, is Misty, while her middle name is Kasumi."

"How did you get all this information?" Drew asked. Paul smirked.

"It's called 'hacking'," he replied. Drew walked over to Paul's computer.

"Hacking? But how?"

"Her personal page. I'm not sure who made this, but it's a site where _everything_ about a person listed."

"Stalkers," Drew muttered, but went on the same site for a Leafina Green.

"Leafina's nickname is Leaf and she doesn't currently have a nickname. She's shy but can be outgoing and Leaf's really good with her friends. Seems to be friends with Mistia, Dawna, and Maybelle." Drew read aloud.

"These are getting interesting," Paul smirked. "Which one do you think will be easiest to kill?"

"How about Maybelle?" Drew suggested. "I'll take her."

"I'll take Dawna," Paul responded, tripping over the name. "Why on earth is her name _Dawna_?"

"You sound like you like her," Drew teased. Paul glared at him.

"I will _never_ like these girls who are the daughters of our parents' killers," he snapped. "Never."

* * *

Gary looked at the text. It was the names of the girls.

_Dawna Berlitz_

_Mistia Waterflower_

_Leafina Green_

_Maybelle Maple_

_Gary__, you take Leafina. Ash will take Mistia. I take Dawna and Drew takes Maybelle._

_-Shadow_

Gary smirked. Leafina sounded good.

"I still won't ever fall for her though," Gary decided. "Though she may be interesting, no way."

Then Amariah's scream ripped through the night. After that followed was silence, and a quiet sob of grief.

* * *

How was it? Dark? Scary? Odd? I didn't add Amariah's death scene though I could have if I wanted too…but I decided it was dark already and the next chapter the girls will be introduced!

Review please!

Next Chapter:

_Settling In:_ more about the Ice-Types are introduced...along with a girl they know very well named Victoria. They settle into Darkstone Academy very well...and then are surprised by a sinister call from her...


	2. Settling In

"Watch out…_now!"_ Ash yelled, lunging and slashing with his slender sword at a person who instantly and expertly blocked. Ash grumbled under his breath while Gary openly smirked. Paul was leaning against a tree, looking like he was completely bored, and Drew was polishing his blade.

"Ashy-boy, you're going to have to try harder to defeat that 'guard'," Gary yawned, twirling his pistol around between his fingers, and firing it another 'guard' who instinctively blocked it with a shield. "These are getting boring."

"You want to make the level higher to 'attack and defend'?" Drew questioned, bored himself**.**

"Why not?" Gary replied. Drew pushed a button and immediately, they were sent to a beach setting. There was an army waiting in ambush and they looked all strong and fit to put up a good fight.

"Uh…Drew, did you press 'expert skill'?" Ash gulped, stepping back when the leader of the army stepped forward. Drew looked at the buttons he had pressed.

"Oh…" Drew muttered, realizing his mistake. Paul glared at him.

"We have to fight through," he pointed out harshly. Paul raised his long dagger and attacked, with Ash and Gary following. Drew grumbled under his breath but followed his friends to the suicide mission.

Before Paul was hit in the shoulder with an unexpected slash, the scene switched back to the training room they were in before. A tall girl with blood-red flowers in her black hair was glaring at them with fury in her dark purple eyes.

"Thanks for saving our butts!" Ash cut in before the girl could say a word. The girl glared at him then faced Paul.

"Are you serious? Working on the _expert level_ skill?" she spat at him. Paul glared back at her, but didn't say anything.

"Hey, it wasn't his fault," Gary tried to cut the girl off. "It was Drew's." Drew gaped and mentally reminded himself to kill Gary later. The girl was Victoria, and she was the closest person the Ice-types had to a friend. But she was fierce, unpredictable, and one word to describe her was 'stormy'. She was a loner, and she never fought with anyone but her Pokémon. Victoria hesitated for a minute, and Drew was afraid she'd strike out and hit him dead at that moment but she merely sighed instead.

"You _know_ how important you guys are to this association," Victoria murmured, her eyes looking sad and wistful. "The Assassins can't exist without you. If you die or leave, and if you leave and we don't kill you, then this association will fall." Her voice suddenly broke. "You _know_ you guys need to be more careful! You _have_ to!"

The boys looked surprised at Victoria's outburst. She was usually composed and fierce, but now she was broken down and crying.

"It's not like we were planning a suicidal mission or something," Paul sighed.

"I know, but just be careful," Victoria snapped, rubbing her eyes. "This new mission isn't going to be as easy as sneaking into a gym and killing a defenseless, idiotic girl like Amariah. This is a _race_." The boys exchanged shocked and confused looks. A race? This news was new to them.

"A…race?" Gary finally managed to say. Victoria nodded.

"We're against the 'Protectors'," Victoria said, sounding like she would rather curse the name. "They want to 'protect' the girls and will _kill_ you to do that."

"What an anti-change," Paul muttered. Victoria nodded.

"The Commander told me to tell you this: there's more than four of them stationed out there," she said seriously. "There's close to twenty, and they're all trained as well as two of you. They'll do anything to kill you and there would probably be five trained on you each minute of the day, even when you're asleep. So be on your watch."

"This is ridiculous," Drew growled. "The Assassins are being assassinated! How stupid is that?" Victoria shrugged.

"That's what the Commander told me to tell you. Oh, yes, and I have some extra information that might weaken the girls and keep them off their guard," Victoria told them teasingly. "Of course, if you don't want it…"

"Of course we want it!" Ash exclaimed. Victoria laughed.

"Okay, so which one of you have the girl named Leafina?" she asked.

"I do," Gary said.

"Okay, so Leafina won't pay attention if you try to hit on her." Gary stared in shocked disbelief as the rest of the boys snickered. "Her weakness is hurt and wounded people or Pokémon, so if you get hurt, she'll help you with real sympathy. Leaf has the indifference of a Grass-type, so you have to be an insistent Bug-type."

"That's good to know," Gary mumbled, putting a mental note in his mind.

"Mistia loves romance," Victoria continued. "She's up for any type of challenge and if you challenge her you have to be fast." Ash grinned.

"That's easy," he declared. The boys rolled their eyes.

"Mistia also has a love for Water Pokémon. She loves Pokédolls and she's also afraid of Bug-types, carrots, and peppers. So she's the fire, actually, and you have to be the Water-type to calm her and soothe her."

"I knew that," Ash nodded. Victoria rolled her eyes.

"Maybelle isn't easy to catch either," Victoria went on. "If you challenge her in a teasing or mocking way, she'll rise up to the challenge and most likely will explode. Maybelle's a Fire-type so whoever has her has to be cool and calming like a Grass-type."

"Isn't Grass weak to Fire, though?" Drew asked.

"Don't take it seriously!" Victoria growled. "Just the personalities." Then she turned to Paul. "You have Dawna, right?" He nodded. "Okay. So, she's a happy, bubbly type. An antidote for your coldness," she added under her breath. "So you'll attract her attention just by being…you. Tease her a little to get her riled up but not too much or she'll probably attack you until the 'Protectors' don't have to do their job for you." Paul rolled his eyes. "I'm serious!" Victoria protested.

"Whatever," Paul dismissed. "That's enough information. Let's get ready." Victoria looked once at them.

"Be careful" was all she said as she turned and walked out of the room, her hands twisting her long purple gown agitatedly.

* * *

"What Pokémon and weapons are you going to bring?" Ash asked curiously to Gary, who was still packing.

"I'm bringing Blastoise, Arcanine, Umbreon, Dodrio, Golem, and Scizor. My weapons will be a rifle, shotgun, knife, dagger, sword, and my normal pistol. You?" Gary questioned.

"I'm bringing along Pikachu," Gary rolled his eyes, "Glalie, Lapras, Charizard, Garchomp, and Bayleef. My weapons are the handgun, sword, spear, and dagger."

"What Pokémon are you bringing, Paul?" Ash asked the plum-haired young man. He looked indifferently at Ash.

"Normal team," he replied. "Torterra, Infernape (A/N: He's keeping Chimchar in this story, okay?), Honchkrow, Ursaring, Weavile, and Electivire."

"How about you, Drew?" Ash asked.

"Roserade, Masquerain, Flygon, Absol, and Butterfree," he said back.

"Only five?" Gary inquired. Drew shrugged.

"It doesn't matter," he replied. Hefting his bag, he nodded at Paul. "Let's go." Paul nodded and picked up his own gray backpack.

"C'mon," he said, and walked out of the base toward the helicopter that would bring them to the school.

"What's the school called?" Ash said curiously.

"It's called 'Darkstone Academy'," Drew replied.

"Way to add on to the dark aura," Gary muttered. Paul said nothing but boarded the silver helicopter. Drew followed and Gary and Ash climbed in soon afterward. They each had only one bag and were dressed like they normally were. Their bags contained their weapons, changes of clothes, and other objects that would help them during the assassination. The Poké Balls were in the belts or pockets of the boys and they each had a communicating device that had a screen and clipped to their belt. A slight vibration alerted Paul that someone was contacting him. He pulled it out and looked to see who it was. Lilac, or Victoria.

He pushed the 'accept call' button and her face appeared on the screen. His face probably appeared on Victoria's device as well.

"What is it?" he snapped. Victoria rolled her eyes.

"Geez, just offering some information that _might_ just prove useful to you!" she grumbled. "But _nooo_, you just have to go and _snap_ at me…"

"Victoria!" Paul growled. She sighed.

"Okay, geez, whatever, Paul," she grumbled once more. "Okay, so the 'Protectors' don't know who the heck you are. They're going to have to try and find information, but _don't let them know you are the Assassins_. But don't try to plant false leads; that will make them suspicious. And also…well, you know how you said you'd never fall for a girl, much less these girls?" Paul glared at her. Victoria took that as a signal to keep going. "But these are the best girls in the region. They're beautiful, amazing, and charming. If you're not guarding your heart carefully, you'll fall for them, like every boy has before you."

"I'm not going to fall for these girls," Paul snarled. "_Never_." Victoria shrugged.

"Whatever you say," she replied back. "Last bit of information: it almost always rains there, so it's gloomy and overcast, and often dark."

"Way to fit in with the name," Drew joked, a smirk crossing his face.

"Right." Victoria looked unsettled for a second. "I'm on a mission too, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to talk to you again." That caught the boys' attention.

"Why not?" Ash demanded.

"This mission is hard. I have to kill off the bodyguards of this famous person, and since I work alone, it's pretty much a suicide mission."

"What? Why did the Commander tell you to do it?" Gary shouted. Victoria shrugged again.

"I'm not sure. But I'm calling to say goodbye. So…well, goodbye, I suppose, and good luck." Then she winked at Paul. "If you fall for Dawna, I wish you luck!" Paul glared at her before the screen turned blank again. Before his friends could say a word, the pilot called out a warning.

_"Get ready, we're about to enter some turbulence. I repeat, get ready, we're about to enter some turbulence."_

Rain suddenly pounded against the vehicle and thunder boomed as lightning flashed.

"Why the sudden storm?" Ash whined. No one answered but instead held on to the side. As a gust of wind suddenly knocked the helicopter sideways, the boys went sprawling.

"They call this _some_ turbulence?" Drew exclaimed, falling over again.

"This is getting annoying," Paul grumbled, standing up shakily and gripping the bar at the side of the vehicle tightly for the fifth time.

"When will we get out of the turbulence?" Gary called to the pilot, clinging onto the handle for dear life. He wasn't complaining, he was asking…agitatedly.

"In a minute. Wait a second…" The pilot looked ahead. "Now!" In a second, they were out of the gust and suddenly shot forward and higher because of the sudden disappearance of the pressure.

"You think there'll be any fan girls?" Drew asked, just to make a conversation.

"Maybe," Gary shrugged. Rain spattered on the helicopter's roof and a strike of lightning slashed dangerously near them and he shuddered. But then he squinted his eyes. The lightning had produced a flash of light and he had made out a silhouette of a girl standing against a tree. In the brief moment, he had seen long, flowing dark brown hair that waved quickly in the wind, snapping back and forth. As the wind had died, it flowed carefully over her shoulders and down to her knees. Crystal tears were slipping down her face as she cried. Rain ran down her body, which was covered by a black strapless dress that was tight-fitting and reached to her ankles, spreading out in a flare from her hips out. A single white camellia was at her feet.

* * *

"So, remember what you need to do," the pilot told them.

"Whatever," Drew dismissed, walking out with his bag slung over his shoulder. Rain drummed around him as he put up an umbrella, unwilling to let his hair get wet. Paul strode alongside him but not underneath the umbrella, not caring that his hair was soaked along with his clothes and bag. Ash pulled on his hood and Gary put up another umbrella.

"So you must be the new students, huh?" the headmaster of the school called from the doorway. Drew remembered his name being Headmaster Wallace (anyone recognize the name?).

"Yes," Paul replied.

"Come along then," Wallace said, and led them to the dark gray dormitory versus the dark blue one.

"The dark blue one is for the girls, isn't it?" Gary asked.

"That's right," Wallace said, his turquoise eyes turning warmer.

"Wallace? Can I please have an autograph?" a girl raced over to the headmaster, who looked at them with nothing about him that looked like he was bothered. The girl looked at the boys and immediately started squealing, alerting all the other boys and girls around them.

"Kill me now," Ash muttered. Gary elbowed him; it was their favorite joke and exasperation expression but now wasn't the time. The girl who had asked Wallace for an autograph looked with adoration at Drew, who stepped back, bumping into Paul, who immediately glared furiously at his friend as he was knocked out of balance. Drew fell back too and a girl's arm shot forward, grabbing his shoulder before he fell. Another girl had stopped Paul from falling as well. A girl dispersed the crowd by yelling at them and they disappeared, carrying Wallace along with them.

"Room 205 and 206!" Wallace called before disappearing in the midst of fan girls.

"Are you guys okay?" a brunette asked them, her green eyes worried as she bent over Gary, who had also been knocked down with the flood of fan girls. Gary felt a drip of…_rainwater_ fall onto his shirt from the girl's soaked brown hair. He also realized a rather wet white camellia was in her hair, entwined within the hastily done damp braids. The girl that had been yelling at the other girls helped Ash up.

"I didn't expect you guys to be so famous at first sight," the brunette that had helped Drew laughed. She had hair in two ponytails without hair ties and underneath a red bandana. She had a red t-shirt and wore blue shorts. Her aquamarine eyes were shining with amusement. "I'm Maybelle Maple." Drew sucked in a sudden breath and started choking. He recovered nearly as quickly.

"I'm Drew Hayden. Nice to meet you, Maybelle," he said, extending a hand. _This is the girl I'm going to kill…_

"Oh, nice to meet you too," Maybelle said, giggling. "And please, just call me _May_."

"Whatever, _March_," Drew said, flicking his hair. "Are you guys fan girls as well but more desperate than the other ones?" May's personality changed from sweet to furious and Drew smirked.

"_WE ARE NOT FAN GIRLS!" _May roared, and the girl who helped Ash up held her friend back from attacking. The blunette, who had helped Paul, and the brunette, who had asked Gary if he was all right, sweatdropped.

"I'm Dawna Berlitz," the blunette introduced herself. "This is Leafina Green and that girl over there is Mistia Waterflower. Just call us Dawn, Leaf, and Misty."

"Dawna?" Paul smirked. Dawn suddenly glared at him.

"Is there a _problem_ with that name?" she growled.

"Nothing, except it's a pathetic name." Paul didn't miss the furious look she shot him and smirked even wider. It would be amusing to toy around for her and then end her life swiftly. He wondered idly if he would meet another victim who would be as amusing as this troublesome and annoying girl.

"Hm. Well, I'm tired, so I think I'll sleep now," Ash told Misty cheerfully. "Nice to meet you girls. See ya tomorrow." Then he turned to the rest of the Ice-types and grinned. "I think it's safe to say that these girls are the Fire-types!" Gary immediately choked and Paul and Drew glared at the dense-headed boy.

"We'll be going. Meet us tomorrow at the cafeteria, okay?" Leaf suggested. "Then maybe we can show you around if our counselor lets us."

"Oh yeah, who's our counselor?" Gary asked Drew, who held the sheet of paper in his hands. Drew looked at the paper.

"Someone named…Crasher Wake?" The girls shot looks at each other and grinned, amused.

"Wake…er, I mean _Crasher_ Wake," Misty began, "is a really fun teacher. He'll be your counselor, apparently, and he's pretty boisterous. Get ready to be encouraged."

"And amused!" May chirped. "He's really funny!"

"He sounds like a ball of fun," Drew muttered. Dawn half-smiled at that.

"Wake-er, _Crasher_ Wake-isn't usually described as 'a ball'," she told him in a soft tone; Paul could tell that she didn't usually like to yell or talk commandingly, like Misty. "In fact, you're lucky not to have Byron, who's probably going to be raving about how 'defense' is necessary every single minute of the training day."

"Who do you have?" Gary asked the girls, Leaf in particular.

"We have Erika," Leaf responded. "She's nice, and known as the 'Nature-Loving Princess'."

"What's Crasher Wake known as?" Ash asked Misty.

"I think…" she turned to May. "What was he called again?"

"Hm. I think it was…oh yeah!" Her vision cleared. "Wake…_Crasher_ Wake…is known as 'The Torrential Masked Master'. He's a master of Water-types." The boys smirked at that; they all had Pokémon capable of handling a Water-type Master.

"Well, that sure sounds fun," Drew said, fake-yawning for effect. "I think we'll turn in now. See ya."

"Bye, guys." Dawn smiled lightly, waving at them as she turned and headed back toward the girls' dorm.

Drew, Paul, Ash, and Gary entered their rooms. They found out that the two rooms were interconnected by a door that they kept open. In each room were two sleeping platforms at the back, each by the wall and about three feet off the ground. The heads of the sleeping platforms were against the walls. The sleeping platforms had white mattresses that Ash observed were made of down feathers, and they had two white pillows that were also filled with the same material. Two white blankets lay in a neat, folded pile at the foot of the mattress. The carpet was dark blue, soft and pleasing to the bare feet, and the walls were a light green and white. At the middle of the back wall was a sliding door that led out to a curved balcony that was shared with the other boys' room, which had an oval-shaped rug that was a pale blue color, two deck chairs with orange material and light turquoise pillows. A pot of soil, ready to have seeds planted in it, was at the side that was conveniently on the side of Drew's room. Drew vowed to himself to plant some roses with his Roserade sometime later. There was a small version of a living room with a T.V. and two dark blue couches perpendicular to the other and an ornate glass and mahogany coffee table, along with a kitchenette with a table so the people could eat inside their rooms if they so wished. There were two closets and a bathroom per room, with a cupboard in the kitchenette that contained all sorts of games to play in case they were bored, with notebooks and sketchbooks as well.

Gary and Ash shared a room while Paul and Drew shared the other. They unpacked quickly and all four of the boys took a quick shower. When they were done, they had gone into Ash and Gary's room and were in the bedroom, where Ash's Pikachu had claimed a chair in the room his own sleeping place while the boys were discussing their plans. They had, of course, ingeniously hidden their weapons out of sight.

"I suggest we toy around with these girls for a while," Drew said with a smirk. "It's not every day we get a mission to kill such pretty young ladies."

"Gross, Drew, you made it sound like we were pedophiles," Gary said in disgust, elbowing the green-haired boy, who glared in response.

"He has a point though," Ash pointed out. "We should see if we can make 'em fall for us, and play with 'em a bit!"

"That does sound like fun," Paul agreed, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall and looking at the Pokéopoly game with his eyes narrow. "_How_ did you idiots convince me to play?"

"By convincing you," Gary replied tartly, moving his piece and claiming Celadon City. "Hah!" He paid over the Pokéyen and took up the motel building in the Celadon section. Ash moved his and landed in Veilstone City, which belonged to Paul.

"Darn!" Ash exclaimed, looking over at Paul with a pleading expression on his face. Paul looked back indifferently.

"You have to pay," he said bluntly. Ash grumbled but handed over the amount of Pokéyen needed.

"I hate this game!" Ash complained. "Can we play Go Magikarp or something?"

"Go Magikarp? How about Skunky?" Gary suggested. "We haven't played that for a while."

"Not since that stupid Skuntank used the disgusting attack on my hair, no," Drew replied, flicking his hair to the side self-consciously.

"I'm up for it," Paul shrugged. Ash grabbed the cards and dealt them out. Five cards went to each other boys, then Ash laid the cards in the center.

"I'll go first," Gary decided, then turned to Drew, who had just picked up his cards. "Hm…I'm choosing this one!" Gary chose the one on the left and Drew immediately clenched his fist, but it went unnoticed. Then Drew turned to Paul.

"I'm choosing this one," he decided, picking the card second to the left and receiving an Ace of Spades. "Phew." Paul rolled his eyes. He was sitting on the ground cross-legged, and he was completely still.

"There's only one Joker in the pile!" Ash told him. Drew rolled his eyes. Paul looked over at Ash's cards then quickly picked a Queen of Hearts. He put down the match-up of the Queen of Diamonds and Queen of Hearts. Ash faced Gary and took one, getting a King of Clubs and gaining a match.

Soon, Gary succeeded in grabbing Drew's Joker, to which Drew smirked and Gary grumbled. Drew finally got rid of all his cards and Paul followed soon after.

"Ha! I win," Drew gloated. Paul leaned against the wall once more with his arms crossed. It was a battle between Gary and Ash and Ash won, to their surprise.

"Ha! Beat ya!" Ash taunted. A ringing in Gary's communication device stopped them. As he looked at it, he mouthed _Victoria_, and picked it up.

"What is it, Victoria?" he asked. As her face flashed on screen, they saw that her eyes were troubled and filled with grief.

"What's wrong?" Ash demanded at once. Victoria opened her mouth to speak…

* * *

Haha! Cliffhanger!

I just wanna say _arigatou_ to my 'beta-reader' shortnsweet615 for helping me correct everything! Thank you, Shannon!

I hope you like it and review please!

Next Chapter:

_True Colors Begin To Show:_ Guess what Victoria has to say? Harsh news. And the Ice-Types get to experience it first-hand...and WAY too close for comfort. Then something mysterious happens...


	3. True Colors Begin To Show

I'm sorry for leaving you guys off on a cliffhanger! But ya know…I really wish this was a movie so I could add sound affects on this! Sound affects, songs, melodies, etc. etc…

Oh well; no use wishing for what won't ever happen! So…enjoy!

Oh yes….I hope none of you guys mind death… *worried look on face with anti-ghost gun in hand*

* * *

"There are these bands of assassins just like you," Victoria said, troubled. "They used to be part of us Assassins but now are no longer part of it, and decide to go after everyone as revenge for being thrown out of the group. They've told the 'Protectors' who you are and where you are, so be on your guard. Once in a while, they'll probably try to kill the girls, but not for a long time."

They sat in silence for a minute or two.

"So…we're in danger from two sides?" Ash finally spoke. Victoria nodded.

"That's just great," Drew muttered. "As I said before; the Assassins are being assassinated!"

"That's for sure," Gary grumbled.

"Are you saying we have to pretty much protect the girls to kill the girls?" Paul said finally in disbelief. Ash groaned.

"This is a twisted version…" he complained. "Protect the girls from killers, and then we, the protectors, kill the girls? Protect the girls to kill the girls…wait, I lost myself there…" He scratched his head in confusion.

_"_That's right," Victoria said, swiftly ignoring Ash's denseness. "As I said before; be on your guard and then protect the girls from other attackers other than yourself."

"This might be fun," Gary snickered. "Protect them; then back stab them!"

"So…what should we do about the girls though?" Drew asked Victoria.

"Why ask me?"she grumbled. _"_But fine. Um…just be careful wherever you go and–"Then she screamed and the screen went fuzzy. "Let me go! No!"

"Victoria?" they exclaimed in alarm.

"Find out his real identity!" they barely managed to hear her shout over the yells, gunshots, and _THWAK_s of spears, arrows, and swords thrown at her.

"Who's identity?" Paul demanded furiously.

"He was lying to you! They didn't–" But she was abruptly cut off with a shriek of pain, a gasp of a painful death, and a sneering voice. Her voice faded down to a whisper. "They didn't kill your parents," she whispered. "Beware of betrayal from all sides. And especially don't trust _his_ gifts."

"Who's gifts?" Ash asked.

"The one you trust the most…the–"

Then the line crackled and the screen automatically said in large, bold, red words:

**UNIDENTIFIED NUMBER IN USE. PLEASE REDIAL THE NUMBER OR IT MAY BE THAT THE PHONE WAS CUT FROM CONNECTION FOR ETERNITY.**

"V-Victoria?" Ash questioned shakily. The other three boys shook their heads sadly.

They knew that Victoria was now gone…forever.

* * *

It was nearly eleven o'clock. The night breeze softly blew through the boys' hair as they relaxed.

Ash lay on his back with his arms behind his head on the deck chair of the balcony.

"I still can't believe she's actually gone," he murmured. "I wonder who killed her, why they killed her, where she was when she was killed, and what she was trying to say to us before she was killed." Gary sighed from the other chair and shrugged.

"I wonder too…" he said back, gazing at the black night sky that twinkled with small, yellow, sparkling stars. A shooting star struck across the sky.

"Quick!" Ash breathed. "Make a wish!" Gary, Paul, and Drew stared at Ash like he was crazy but nevertheless made a wish.

"What did you wish for?" Ash asked cheekily to Paul.

"None of your business," Paul snapped. He and Drew were leaning against the side of the wall. Drew's quick, sharp eyes caught sight of metal streaking toward them in a similar way that the star had just whooshed across the sky.

"Knives!" Drew exclaimed, diving forward and expertly dodging it. Ash and Paul rolled off to the side. Gary wasn't so lucky and his shoulder got grazed by the sharp, jagged knife.

**_THUD! THUD! THUD!_**_ **THUD!**_

The four knives slammed against the wall and chairs, narrowly missing the four boys' hearts. In fact, if they had stayed where they were, Crasher Wake would have found four corpses being hung on the wall and the two chairs in the morning when he'd inspect the room to find out why the boys hadn't come out.

Drew took a shaky breath and even Paul looked uneasy.

"That was way too close," Gary muttered, inspecting his wound.

"Is it deep?" Ash asked him.

"Nah, just a scratch," he replied, standing up and then dodging to the left. He glared furiously at a smashed bullet on the ground. "Get inside!" he barked, and they dove into the room closest to where they were in - Gary and Ash's room. Paul had the wits to slam the sliding door closed right behind them so the remaining three bullets hit the bulletproof glass and not them.

"They just never give up, do they?" Drew growled.

"We should probably be safe in here," Ash said in a low voice. Then the lights flickered. "Um…guys…did you just see…" Before he could complete his sentence, the lights went out, "Or not."

"What the heck?" Paul snarled. "Why did the lights go off?"

"It must be them." Gary spat, "They're probably wanting to attack us in the dark."

"Cowards!" Drew growled. "Fight us face to face!"

"No…" an eerie voice swept over them. "Yet we are not cowards; we prefer to do our stealth and action in the dark."

"Use the natural dark, why don't ya?" Ash demanded, gripping for a weapon. But instead of a weapon he touched a Poké Ball. He grinned in the darkness. "Bayleef, go!" he commanded softly.

"Bayleef, bay," the Pokémon said in a low voice.

"Vine Whip, everywhere," he ordered quietly.

"Leef!" Bayleef let loose a clump of vines that eventually spread out and captured hold.

Gary flicked on the lights to reveal twenty boys covered in black with Bayleef's strong and wiry vines around their necks.

"How did you all get in here so easily?" he demanded.

"We have our ways," the leader said. It was impossible to recognize the identity of any of the 'Protectors' since they were all clothed in black, even their hair and faces.

"That's it!" Drew shouted. "Get out and don't bother us or we'll kill you right now!" Before he could take a step forward, his arm was pinned to the wall with a knife.

"Drew…" Ash muttered, clearly thinking his plan was idiotic. (A/N: what a change from Ash to Drew, huh?)

Paul was looking at his best friend who was looking at the knife that was in his arm with pain twisted on his face.

"This is not going to work," he said under his breath. "Ursaring! Focus Blast!"

"_RAWR!"_ Ursaring appeared and unleashed a large, white-green ball of energy that caused the 'Protectors' to be knocked out.

"We'll kill them," Ash said in a low voice. "Where should we hide their remains?"

"There's a river not too far from here," Gary suggested in the same quiet tone. "It leads to the Bottomless Whirlpool Ocean." His expression grim, he bent down beside the leader and used a penknife to slit his throat. Covering the blood with the black cloth, he put the body into the plastic bag meant for their laundry.

"You think they'll miss the laundry bag?" Drew joked, covering his wound with a bandage and wrapping it around his arm.

"Maybe, maybe not," Gary joked back.

"Don't walk down to the river," Paul said suddenly. "We'll teleport them to avoid suspicion. Remember, these are twenty people – twenty students – that are going to be missed tomorrow. Better just send it with a Teleport." He let out his Weavile.

"I didn't know Weavile could use Teleport…" Ash said in confusion.

"Just this one," Paul answered. "I needed it to learn it just in case we had to make a speedy getaway or if the victims were running."

"Okay, hurry," Drew said, gazing worriedly at the stirring group. Paul decided to help as well to quicken the job with a snide 'you guys are pathetic' remark. After a few minutes and Drew's mocks, the corpses were teleported, never to be found again. Paul returned Weavile without a word.

Ash walked quickly to the sink to wash off his hands and his weapons. Gary and Paul did the same.

"You know…maybe we should all sleep in the same room," Drew suggested. "Just so we can fight off the others."

"Nah, it's okay," Gary stated. "You sleep heavily and so does Ashy-boy, but Paul and I sleep light enough to hear anything so you guys are covered."

"We can also leave out a Pokémon or two each to listen out," Ash added, unwilling to let Gary have the last word.

"Whatever, Ashy-boy," Gary retorted. Drew and Paul nodded.

"Good for us," Drew spoke for the both of them.

"Roserade and Absol, you're on."

"Rade!" Roserade twirled.

"Sol!" Absol replied.

"Weavile and Honchkrow, stand by!" Paul threw out those two Pokéballs. Ash let out Glalie and left Pikachu out, of course, along with Bayleef. Gary released Arcanine and Umbreon to guard.

"Okay...dinner time?" Ash asked hopefully. Gary smacked his head but Ash looked at him with a pleading look in his eyes.

"Pikapi," Pikachu sighed, sweatdropping. His Trainer would never change.

"Anyways…you can have a meal if you want, Ash," Paul said crisply, "but I'm going to sleep. I'm just not hungry tonight."

"Not at all?" Gary asked in disbelief. Paul shook his head.

"I'm just not hungry tonight," he repeated, going to his room and shutting the door behind him.

"Hey! Paul!" Drew exclaimed, tugging the door open and slamming it closed as soon as he could, but leaving it unlocked.

"Looks like it's just you and me, buddy," Ash said to Pikachu, who jumped onto his shoulder.

"What?" Gary protested. "I want to eat too!"

"Oh, okay, great," Ash said over his shoulder, racing over to the refrigerator that contained their food that Gary had carefully put in.

"What do you want to eat?" Gary asked, eyeing the store of food. "I think I'd like a sandwich."

"I'd like a hamburger," Ash decided. "No; wait, a corn dog! No…I want nachos! Actually…I want pasta! Oh…wait, I want–" Gary sweatdropped.

"Ash, do we even _have_ pasta?" he questioned, running his fingers through his hair.

"We don't?" Ash groaned. "Oh well…I've made up my mind. I want a cheeseburger." Gary laughed to himself.

"Ashy-boy, you're still the same as ever," he chuckled, pushing his friend out of the way and grabbing a grilled cheese sandwich for himself while tossing a frozen cheeseburger for the black-haired boy.

"But I want the fresh ones," Ash grumbled, catching it and heading over to the microwave.

"If you want you can make it yourself but don't say I didn't warn you when you make a mess of the kitchen and Paul calls you a loser again," Gary said indifferently, taking a bite out of the sandwich. Ash sweatdropped.

"Oh yeah…" Ash sighed, pushing the buttons. "How many minutes?"

"Considering it's rock-hard and frozen solid, however you want to put it," Gary said in a know-it-all voice, "then I'd consider about five minutes."

"But I'm hungry!" Ash whined. Gary rolled his eyes.

"Get a life, Ashy-boy," he said, going to his bed and playing with his Umbreon. Ash grabbed his now-warm cheeseburger and ate it quickly, then handed Pikachu a can of Pokémon Electric-type food.

"What? Oh. Right. Us...not the girls," Ash agreed. Then he walked over to his bed.

"It's time to go to sleep," he suggested. Gary yawned and staggered to the kitchen to find some food for his Pokémon as well as Ash's remaining ones.

"Sure," he called over his shoulder. Ash pulled the cover of his blankets over his head and promptly fell asleep with Pikachu curled beside his head, breathing peacefully.

Little did they know Gary hadn't returned to his bed that night...

* * *

Paul looked over at Drew.

"How's your arm?" he asked after a while.

"Eh, it's okay," Drew replied, flexing the wounded muscle. "I'll be fine in a few days."

"You were idiotic," Paul grunted, turning over and heading towards his bed.

"I'm quite aware of that," Drew growled at his friend.

To their surprise, they heard a muffled shout before a breaking of glass in the room next door.

"That sounds like Gary," Drew said in shock. He and Paul exchanged a look of confusion before yanking open the door. "Gary? Ash? Guys!"

* * *

In the Assassin base many miles away lay a girl's body, lying surrounded by weapons that had pierced her through. Beside her head and held tightly in her hand was a communicating device half-hidden beneath her long black hair. Her eyes were deep but glazed over. Two Poké Balls lay open by her other hand.

Above her was a tall menacing figure who glowered down at the dead girl. His dark eyes were completely furious but cold at the same time with his hand twisting his hat. He had used to be a flaunting person but now was cold and bitter, wanting revenge against _everyone_ who had done him even a bit of inconvenience, and that was including his elders or people his age. His lips curled into a sly grin with a hint of a snarl.

"It's a pity I had to kill you instead of you dying on that mission," he spat at the girl, who of course didn't respond. "It would have kept my hands cleaner without your blood splattered on it."

Mesprit, who had appeared to guard the girl on her passage to Giratina, gazed intensely at the man who was oblivious to its presence. However, echoing in its mind was far from gentle and emotional thoughts besides anger.

_You do not deserve anything but a lingering and torturing death,_ it willed. _You will meet your revenge but at a high price; the price of your life will be used and taken for your revenge. Nothing will stop that omen from happening yet I hope that you will not bring too many along with you on your torturous passage down to the evil._

Of course, the man didn't feel a thing.

* * *

Scary? Harsh?

Are you mad because I left another cliffhanger? *laughs* I had to do something and this was the only thing…

Anyways…review please and tell me what ya think. Sorry there were no girls in this chapter but I _will_ incorporate that in the next one! Maybe even some shippiness, no? It's about time for that, don't ya think?

So…can anyone guess what happened to Gary? There's a multitude of reasons you can think of but there's only one specific one!

Review! And tell me your favorite and _least_ favorite parts! And please put in why!

Next Chapter:

_Beginning of the First Day_: Well...the title says all. The girls are involved this time.


	4. Beginning of the First Day

When you read the schedules, just be warned I'm going to use a similar plan for an up-coming story, okay?

And I know I haven't update a story for a while so…here it is. People who voted for RM: Gemstone Academy will have to wait only a bit longer. I'm updating this story first and then I'm going to update Trials and Tribulations, _then_ Gemstone Academy. PROMISE!

* * *

Ash buried his head into his pillow and his arm reached forward in his sleep.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu cried urgently, swatting his hand away with an Iron Tail.

"Ow!" Ash yelled, sitting up with a jolt in the darkness. The only spot of brightness was Umbreon's yellow rings glowing in the pitch-black darkness. "Whoa…didn't expect the academy to be so dark at night," he yawned, stretching.

"Me neither," Gary mumbled, lifting his head from the pillow. "It's about 2 o'clock in the morning. Go back to sleep."

"Hey…from what Arcanine is trying to say I'd say you weren't in bed until midnight," Ash said suspiciously, catching the meaningful look on Arcanine's face. "Where were you?"

"Not tired," Gary shrugged, sitting up as well and facing Ash. "Umbreon? A bit of light please." Umbreon's rings glowed brighter, causing more light to fill the room. "That's more like it."

"Not even in the room," Ash continued, trying to make out Arcanine's looks. "In fact, you went outside."

"Um…I broke a dish and it made a loud shattering noise," Gary muttered. "Paul and Drew came over so I promised to go pay for it…"

"Oh. That doesn't sound like you, Gary," Ash mused. "It's usually me that drops stuff…"

"There's a first time for everything, Ashy-boy," Gary replied matter-of-factly, as if those incidents happened every night. But Ash could tell there was something that his friend wasn't telling him…

"Anyways…it'll be a more action-packed day tomorrow – today, in fact – so we might as well get some more shut-eye. Oh, and you also might want to sheath _and_ put away your knife," he added, glancing over to the sharp, jagged end of the glinting knife that Ash had narrowly escaped cutting his hand, thanks to a neatly-timed Iron Tail by Pikachu. Ash sweatdropped.

"Oh…thanks, Pikachu," he sighed. Pikachu nodded and curled up once again as Ash sheathed the knife. "Good night, Gary."

"'Night, Ashy-boy," Gary smirked in the darkness, waiting for Ash's response, which came almost at once.

"Shut up, Gary."

"My pleasure."

* * *

Drew awoke when the faintest light appeared and the moon faded in the sunlight. The simple white curtains were pulled aside, revealing the dawn appearing over the tree tops and mountains.

"Now you're up. Wear those; they're the uniforms for Darkstone Academy," Drew heard Paul say. Drew looked at the clothes lying at the foot of his sleeping platform. He looked at it in disgust. It was dark gray dress pants, a dark gray tuxedo jacket, a shining black tie and a white shirt. For their feet were tuxedo-like shining black shoes.

"They're not something I'd like to wear. My own clothes are way better," he said at once, jumping out of his bed and walking over to his own, better-looking clothes. Drew looked up to see Paul leaning against the wall, wearing his usual clothes of gray cargo pants, coal-gray shirt, purple sneakers, and blue jacket. "Hey, you're not wearing it, so I'm not going to." (A/N: seems like Drew is more defensive with his friend…Idk why…)

Paul shrugged indifferently. "Do what you want."

"We'll stand out more if we don't wear those dour clothes," Gary called, coming in. Ash followed him with Pikachu on his shoulder. Umbreon was at Gary's heels like an obedient Poochyena. They were wearing their standard clothes. Gary had on a black shirt with his purple gemstone necklace. He had purple pants and black shoes that were more comfortable and preferable to the dress shoes and the uniform that were required of them to wear.

"Come to think of it, the girls weren't wearing those clothes yesterday, were they?" Ash asked. He was wearing a white shirt with a black and yellow vest over it, blue jeans, red and black sneakers, red and black hat with a powder blue Poké Ball symbol, and black and light green fingerless gloves.

"No, they weren't. From what I've read in the Darkstone Academy daily schedule," Paul said in a monotone as if he was reciting something, "since we arrived at about nine o'clock at night, it was after the last meal of the night so they were wearing their own clothes and weren't needed to wear their uniforms."

"So are we going to stand out for a reason then?" Gary smirked.

"Oh yeah, we are," Drew smirked as well, flicking his hair to the side. Paul rolled his eyes.

"You guys are a bunch of idiots," he stated, grabbing his bag, slinging it over his head to rest on his back as usual. Paul strode over to the door and leaned against the wall beside it, on the side _away_ from the door, and the boys stared at him. Drew's sharp ears caught the sound of foot falls outside the door so he nodded.

The door opened immediately.

"Good morning, boys!" a tall and incredibly muscular man boomed, striding in. He had no shirt on but he did have on blue leggings with an orange waistline and black ovals on it that resembled a Swampert. He had on orange boots on and a half-face mask on with outcrops. Around his wrists were orange and blue wrist bands that proclaimed _CRASHER WAKE! TORRENTIAL MASKED MASTER!_ The boys immediately assumed that this was the famous 'Wake', or, more appropriately, their counselor.

"Good morning," Gary said in response. Ash, Drew, and Paul echoed his greeting.

"I'm Crasher Wake." Wake continued, "You boys appear to be my charges."

"That's right, sir," Ash grinned. "So…are we the only ones who have you as our counselor?"

"Of course. The room next door has Byron so don't be surprised if you hear him yelling _I love defense!_ in the mornings because he has a notion that shouting his favorite line in the morning would drill the meaning into his charges' minds, but the poor things are just too tired to hear anything but the booming voice of their counselor," Wake laughed boisterously. Ash laughed nervously while the other boys just rolled their eyes.

"I love defense!" a person roared next door. Wake rolled his eyes.

"Right on time," he muttered, looking at the clock on the wall. Then he looked at the boys. His eyes narrowed. _Why aren't they wearing their uniforms?_ He shrugged that thought off and asked, "Ready for breakfast?"

"You bet!" Ash exclaimed at once while Gary nodded. Drew walked out the door while Ash grabbed his backpack and Gary buckled his waist-bag around his waist.

"Hayden, hang on!" Gary shouted. Drew waited.

"Why don't you have a bag?" Ash asked.

"Because I don't need everything," Drew said snidely, flicking his hair to the side once more.

"You're such a jerk," a girl called. The boys turned around as did Crasher Wake, since it seemed that girls weren't allowed in that specific building because it was the boys' dorm, after all.

It was May Maple who had spoken, the girl who had exploded at Drew the night before for calling her a desperate fan-girl. Beside May were Dawn, Misty, and Leaf.

They were each wearing a dark gray plaited skirt, a white, long-sleeved blouse and a lighter gray vest with the Darkstone Academy symbol, a dark purple and dark green complicated knot, resembling a lunar eclipse, on the left side. Instead of May's red bandana, she wore a silver bandana, and Dawn wore the same thing. Leaf had a white bandana and Misty had a bandana as well, a light gray one.

"Thanks for the compliment," Drew smirked, flicking his hair again. Dawn laughed.

"You're welcome," May snapped. Misty used a different approach.

"Good morning, Crasher Wake," she greeted the boys' counselor. He nodded at her.

"Good morning, girls," he replied. "What are you girls doing here in the _boys'_ dorm?"

"Oh, we met these boys last night." Leaf spoke matter-of-factly. "You know, during 'rush hour'." Crasher Wake nodded.

"I understand. You'll be showing them around?" he asked them.

"You bet!" Dawn chirped. "First destination – the cafeteria."

"Oh boy!" Ash cried. "Lead on!" The boys and the girls rolled their eyes except for May.

"You're on," she challenged. "Let's see who gets there first." With that being said, she took off down the hall with Ash in hot pursuit.

"Hey! I don't know the way down there!" he whined, racing after her. The boys sweatdropped while the girls sighed.

"Well, we might as well go down there, too," Misty suggested mildly.

"I'm getting hungry myself," Leaf grinned, twisting a lock of her brown hair around her fingers. "Let's go."

"Fine with me," Gary grinned back, flashing a winning smile at her that usually would make the girls swoon. But Leaf ignored the look and continued stonily down the hallway.

Dawn and Misty, and Paul and Drew, exchanged an annoyed yet amused look as Gary ran after Leaf, shouting, "What's wrong with you?"

* * *

Drew, Paul, Dawn, and Misty reached the cafeteria, which was part of the main school building, separate from the girls' and boys' dorms.

The cafeteria was a high-ceiling room with white walls and ceiling. The flooring was white and pale blue-speckled tiles and the tables were a typical school cafeteria style. The food was on long, rectangular tables similar to an open buffet, the large, metal platters containing food on light blue tablecloths. A few drink dispensers were at the side on a separate table, offering fruit juice of all kinds, water, milk, and some sodas.

Each table had: many types of omelets; crispy bacon; scrambled eggs; sunny side-up eggs; toast with butter, margarine, marmalade, grape, strawberry, orange, and blueberry jams; bagels; doughnuts; waffles; pancakes; oatmeal; and many other breakfast foods. Syrup and butter lay beside the toast and there was fresh bread not toasted as well. Beside the drink dispenser were clear plastic containers filled to the brim with all types of cereal and gallons of milk in a drinking machine right next to it. Ash and May were in line, eagerly awaiting their turn for a chance at the food.

"Why don't they just go to the other line," Misty sighed, grabbing a plate and going to the line where there were the least people getting breakfast. Leaf was already there and Dawn headed for the cereal, where not many people were. Paul, Drew, and Gary followed Misty to the line she was waiting patiently for her turn.

Paul took the food he wanted for his breakfast and looked over the cafeteria. He saw Dawn sitting by herself in a table at the corner of the cafeteria and Misty, Ash, and May were on their way to join her. Shrugging, he made his way to that table as well.

Drew and Gary were still in line while Leaf was grabbing a drink. Soon they walked over to the table where Dawn had originally been sitting at alone earlier.

Ash gulped down his orange juice and tackled his scrambled eggs and oatmeal with zeal, as May was to her apple juice and bacon.

Misty looked over at Ash with surprise. "Is he always like this?" she asked in bewilderment.

"You bet." Gary rolled his eyes. "In fact, I could ask you the same question about May."

"Hey, I'm hungry!" May exclaimed, digging into her oatmeal.

"Whoa, since when did you get oatmeal?" Leaf asked.

"Since I got hungry this morning," May answered, swallowing her apple-cinnamon oatmeal. Dawn wrinkled her nose.

"Delicious," she muttered. Then she realized something. "You're not wearing the uniforms?"

"You just noticed now?" Paul scoffed, irritated at the girl's obliviousness.

"I spoke about it now," she snapped back. Paul rolled his eyes and Dawn huffed.

"Kill me now." Ash was looking down at his plate.

"What's wrong?" May asked instantly. Drew chuckled.

"'Kill me now'?" Misty echoed. "What's that about?"

"It's just our…um…favorite expression," Ash interrupted sheepishly. Even _he_ wasn't stupid enough to let their Assassin identity through.

"Oh, do I want to kill that…" Gary grumbled, glaring daggers at Ash for almost spilling their identity.

"Again with the killing," Leaf said suspiciously. "Are you guys, like, obsessed with death?"

"You could say that," Drew smirked. May looked with horror at Drew.

"How could you say that?" she demanded. "Death is a horrible thing!"

"Horrible thing?" Drew mocked. "I'm so terrified."

"Shut up, Hayden," May snapped. "Death _is_ a terrible thing."

"Like I said, I'm so terrified," Drew said calmly in response. May growled under her breath.

"What, do you always like to tick off girls like that?" Leaf said in confusion.

"Not ever," Ash said, looking with puzzlement at Drew's calm and smug face to May's furious and red face. "He seems to be enjoying himself."

"Right," Misty said skeptically. "Well, time for class tours. Let me see your separate schedules."

Ash handed her his schedule that Pikachu had kept holding.

"Oh, a Pikachu!" Misty exclaimed, and Pikachu leapt into her arms, cuddling into her warm arms. "How adorable," Ash grinned.

"Say hi to my buddy," he laughed.

"Hiya, Pikachu," Dawn said softly, and Pikachu blinked up warmly to her.

"So, Ketchum," Misty interrupted, "You have seven of the same classes of mine."

"Out of?" Ash inquired.

"The seven classes," she replied.

"Sweet!" Ash said excitedly. "I can't wait!"

"What's your favorite subject?" Misty asked Ash curiously.

"Science," he replied at once. Misty's eyes widened.

"Honestly? I hate that stupid class…" she grumbled. "I always get C's and B-'s in there…"

"It's easy," he said, surprised. "I can do it easily."

"You've repeated yourself," Misty laughed. "Oh well – that's our first class."

"Great!" Ash grinned. "Does any of you others have the same first class as science?"

"Dawn does," May cut in. "Mr. Ryou is a great teacher and he loves to teach especially about bugs." Misty shuddered.

"You don't like bugs?" Ash questioned, surprised.

"No, I don't," she said firmly. "They literally freak me out."

"Don't tell me you're afraid of bugs too," Paul said to Dawn, who glared at him.

"I do not!" she retorted indignantly. "Only Ariados and Spinarak!"

"That's nice to know," Paul muttered, standing up and putting his tray away.

"What's all our classes?" Ash asked, looking over Drew's shoulder. Drew had gotten back Ash's

"Here," Drew said, handing the schedules to all the boys and keeping his own. "They aren't just schedules – they're also information."

These are what the boys' schedules looked like:

_Ash Ketchum_

_Partner Pokémon (choose one of yours): __**Pikachu_**

_Counselor: Crasher Wake Maximum Mask_

_Room Number: 205_

_Classes:_

_1st Period: Science – Room 10 – Aaron Ryou – 2nd Floor_

_2nd Period: Math – Room 12 – Bertha Kikuno – 2nd Floor_

_3rd Period: Language Arts – Room 68 – Candice Suzuna – 7th Floor_

_4th Period: Social Studies – Room 37 – Cynthia Shirona – 4th Floor_

_5th Period: Pokémon Health – Room 03 – Nurse Joy Stephanie – 1st Floor_

_6th Period: Trainer Class – Room 26 – Roark Hyouta – 3rd Floor_

_7th Period: Battle Tutorial – Left Garden Field – Gardenia Natane – The Gardens_

**_Battle_****_ partners will be a luck of the draw_**_** when you reach the Left Garden Field and register with Volkner Denzi. Good luck during the battles!**_

_Breakfast: 6 o'clock a.m. – 7 o'clock a.m._

_Lunch: 11:45 a.m. – 12:50 p.m._

_Mid-Day Snack: 2:30 p.m. – 3:15 p.m._

_Dinner: 5:50 p.m. – 7:30 p.m._

_Evening Snack: 8 o'clock p.m. – 9:45 p.m._

_Curfew: 10:30 p.m._

_You must be in your rooms at 10:00, and at 10:30 it's lights-out and time for bed._

Drew's:

_Drew Hayden_

_Partner Pokémon (choose one of yours):_**_Roserade _**

_Counselor: Crasher Wake Maximum Mask_

_Room Number: 206_

_Classes:_

_1st Period: Math – Room 16 – Flint Ōba – 2nd Floor_

_2nd Period: Science – Room 38 – Lucian Goyō – 4th Floor_

_3rd Period: Pokémon Health – Room 04 – Nurse Joy Lauren – 1st Floor_

_4th Period: Coordinator Class – Room 85 – Fantina Melissa – 9th Floor_

_5th Period: Language Arts – Room 63 – Roxanne – 7th Floor_

_6th Period: Social Studies – Room 26 – Cynthia Shirona – 4th Floor_

_7th Period: Battle Tutorial – Right Garden Field – Flannery Asuna – The Gardens_

**_Battle_****_ partners will be a luck of the draw when you reach the Left Garden Field and register with Volkner Denzi. Good luck during the battles!_**

_Breakfast: 6 o'clock a.m. – 7 o'clock a.m._

_Lunch: 11:45 a.m. – 12:50 p.m._

_Mid-Day Snack: 2:30 p.m. – 3:15 p.m._

_Dinner: 5:50 p.m. – 7:30 p.m._

_Evening Snack: 8 o'clock p.m. – 9:45 p.m._

_Curfew: 10:30 p.m._

_You must be in your rooms at 10:00, and at 10:30 it's lights-out and time for bed._

Paul's:

_Paul Ikari_

_Partner Pokémon (choose one of yours):__**Weavile_**

_Counselor: Crasher Wake Maximum Mask_

_Room Number: 206_

_Classes:_

_1st Period: Science – Room 10 – Aaron Ryou – 2nd Floor_

_2nd Period: Math – Room 12 – Bertha Kikuno – 2nd Floor_

_3rd Period: Language Arts – Room 68 – Candice Suzuna – 7th Floor_

_4th Period: Social Studies – Room 37 – Cynthia Shirona – 4th Floor_

_5th Period: Pokémon Health – Room 03 – Nurse Joy Stephanie – 1st Floor_

_6th Period: Trainer Class – Room 26 – Roark Hyouta – 3rd Floor_

_7th Period: Battle Tutorial – Left Garden Field – Gardenia Natane – The Gardens_

**_Battle_****_ partners will be a luck of the draw when you reach the Left Garden Field and register with Volkner Denzi. Good luck during the battles!_**

_Breakfast: 6 o'clock a.m. – 7 o'clock a.m._

_Lunch: 11:45 a.m. – 12:50 p.m._

_Mid-Day Snack: 2:30 p.m. – 3:15 p.m._

_Dinner: 5:50 p.m. – 7:30 p.m._

_Evening Snack: 8 o'clock p.m. – 9:45 p.m._

_Curfew: 10:30 p.m._

_You must be in your rooms at 10:00, and at 10:30 it's lights-out and time for bed._

Gary's:

_Gary Oak_

_Partner Pokémon (choose one of yours):_**_Umbreon _**

_Counselor: Crasher Wake Maximum Mask_

_Room Number: 205_

_Classes:_

_1st Period: Math – Room 16 – Flint Ōba – 2nd Floor_

_2nd Period: Science – Room 38 – Lucian Goyō – 4th Floor_

_3rd Period: Pokémon Health – Room 04 – Nurse Joy Lauren – 1st Floor_

_4th Period: Coordinator Class – Room 85 – Fantina Melissa – 9th Floor_

_5th Period: Language Arts – Room 63 – Roxanne – 7th Floor_

_6th Period: Social Studies – Room 26 – Cynthia Shirona – 4th Floor_

_7th Period: Battle Tutorial – Right Garden Field – Flannery Asuna – The Gardens_

**_Battle_****_ partners will be a luck of the draw when you reach the Left Garden Field and register with Volkner Denzi. Good luck during the battles!_**

_Breakfast: 6 o'clock a.m. – 7 o'clock a.m._

_Lunch: 11:45 a.m. – 12:50 p.m._

_Mid-Day Snack: 2:30 p.m. – 3:15 p.m._

_Dinner: 5:50 p.m. – 7:30 p.m._

_Evening Snack: 8 o'clock p.m. – 9:45 p.m._

_Curfew: 10:30 p.m._

_You must be in your rooms at 10:00, and at 10:30 it's lights-out and time for bed._

The girls' schedules were identical to the boys'. May's and Leaf's were like Drew's and Gary's while Misty's and Dawn's were like Ash's and Paul's.

"I can't wait," Drew muttered.

"You bet," Gary agreed, his tone completely fake enthusiasm.

"Are you finished with your breakfast yet?" Misty asked, her tone dry. "Hurry up."

"Alright, Myst. Let's go!" Ash exclaimed, running towards the doors. The rest sweatdropped.

"Seriously?" Dawn said. "Is he always like this? I don't believe it."

"Believe it," Drew replied, "Because it's happening."

Under his breath, he added, "Believe that Ash can kill you, because he – and us – will."

* * *

I hope you guys like this chapter better! There was more shipping developments and I'm proud of it because it's longer too! Well, review please!

**TELL ME YOUR FAVORITE PARTS! I'D LIKE TO KNOW BECAUSE MAYBE I CAN DO MORE OF THAT IN THE INCOMING CHAPTERS WITH A DIFFERENT TWIST. AND TELL ME WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST IN THE STORY PLEASE!**

Alright then, review as I said before and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Next Chapter:

_News From Lilac_: The school is now introduced, so now we go in depth about the school...and the girls.


	5. News from Lilac

Just to tell you, the teachers are gym leaders and Elite Four members (and Champions) of any region. Their last names are their Japanese names, so as an example, Mr. Ryou is Aaron of the Elite Four of Sinnoh, not someone from Kamicha Karin or whatever it's called. Just to tell ya!

Also…anyone care to guess what _really_ happened to Victoria? Why she was killed? If you can figure it out you really are a perceptive mystery detective!!! And also a dedication might be coming your way…Put your guesses in your reviews please!

Another reminder: Ash is Sky. Paul is Shadow. Drew is Forest. Gary is Auburn.

Ash scrambled up the stairs, Pikachu on his shoulder. He panted, realizing that he was nearly at the 2nd floor at last. The stairs were nearly never-ending.

"Phew, Pikachu, you'd think they'd install escalators," he complained to his companion.

"Chu," Pikachu sighed in agreement, exhausted.

"Hey, why are you tired?" Ash demanded suddenly. "You were on my shoulder the whole time!" Pikachu sweatdropped. It was in fact that Pikachu had been running alongside him but Ash had been talking to himself…so the raven-haired boy hadn't been paying attention.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu cried out suddenly. Ash looked up to see Paul and Drew walking up the stairs easily. Paul had his hands in his pockets and Drew's arms were crossed. A cold scowl was fixed on Paul's face while a smug and indifferent look was on Drew's.

"Hey, guys, wait for me!" Ash yelled, racing up the steps. Paul and Drew turned around, Paul with a sigh.

"There's an elevator," Paul said, his voice emotionless.

"Then why are you on the stairs?" Ash asked, confused. "Wouldn't you want the elevator?"

"Not for me," Drew scoffed. "There's too many people and the fan-girls will probably chase me to the tenth floor."

"Oh. Of course," Ash muttered sarcastically. "How could I forget?"

They reached the destined floor and walked through the hallway. They then spotted their classrooms.

"Later," Drew called, entering Room 16. A few doors down the hall, Ash spotted Room 10.

"There it is!" Ash exclaimed. Then he saw Weavile beside Paul. "You chose Weavile?"

"Yes." Paul walked towards Room 10, Weavile walking beside him.

"Hi! You got here the same time we did," Misty called. Ash looked up and flashed a grin at her. But in his mind he was thinking, _How on earth will I corner her and kill her? She's tougher than I expected._

Dawn gave them a smile too but Paul ignored her, opening the door.

"Hello, you must be the new boys," their teacher, Mr. Ryou, looked up from his desk. Then he spotted Dawn and Misty. "Welcome, girls. Early as always."

Misty and Dawn shrugged and tossed down their bags at the middle front seat. They were sitting next to each other.

"Would you two boys like to seat beside each other or separate?" Mr. Ryou asked.

Paul and Ash exchanged a look. Neither wanted to sit beside the other, but it would be better than sitting beside some crazy fan-girl. An unspoken message passed between brown eyes and black as they made their decision.

"That seat," Ash said, pointing at the empty two-seat right behind Misty and Dawn.

Mr. Ryou wrote it down in his book and nodded. "Go ahead."

"Scared of fan-girls, aren't you?" Dawn teased, turning around to face them.

"Not a chance!" Ash protested. Then a crowd of flashy fan-girls entered the room and squealed as they saw him. Ash cringed, "Maybe a little." Paul rolled his eyes.

"Oh my gosh!" a girl squealed to another. "You have a class with The Drew?" The girl being spoken to nodded excitedly and the whole crowd squealed in envy.

"How would they know?" Dawn exclaimed, looking shocked.

"They're stalkers – duh," Misty replied, taking out her science book.

"Good point," Dawn muttered, grabbing her own book out and nodding at her little penguin Pokémon Piplup, who immediately jumped onto the desk.

"I still think it's hilarious how those girls became fans in just one night," Misty mused to Dawn.

"I know! It's like news spread like wildfire or something!" Dawn agreed.

Ash held back a laugh. News traveled faster than a wildfire when they were around.

"These girls are getting irritating," Paul grumbled, flipping open to the page that Aaron had put up on the board. By that time, Misty and Dawn had turned back to the front and weren't paying attention to the boys.

"Don't you just wish you could slash 'em all," Ash agreed, fingering the sheathed penknife in his pocket.

"You better not," Paul sighed. "We could get pinpointed in a minute."

"Darn," Ash complained. He looked outside at the window, down to the Gardens. "Man, do I wish I was there instead of stuck in science…"

"Wishing gets nothing done," Misty said dryly from in front of them. "Now focus and maybe the days will go faster."

"Yes ma'am!" Ash said cheekily, causing Misty to sigh and lightly blush. Dawn laughed and of course, Paul paid no attention.

"This is so darn annoying!" Gary growled, throwing his pencil down in disgust. They were in math class and they were just given a four-page worksheet to work on.

"I know what you mean," Leaf grumbled, writing down her work on the side. Oh yeah-they had to show _all_ of their work too.

"C'mon, this is easy," May laughed.

"Wait until you get to Language Arts, May," Leaf shot back. "Anyways, it's just tedious, not hard."

"I agree about the tedious and it _is_ annoying," Drew added.

"One of the worst," May agreed. "But–"

"Are you going to work or complain?" their teacher, Mr. Flint Ōba, asked with amusement, coming over.

"Work!" Leaf said quickly, bending over the paper and writing lightning-fast. "Hey, this is easy!"

"Really?" May looked at the fourth page. "Whoa! You're right, this is easy!"

Drew and Gary exchanged an amused look before calculating once more.

**Ash's POV**

"Well, science was fun," Dawn remarked, walking out of the classroom. "Considering all Mr. Ryou had to do during class was stop the rabid fan-girls from kissing you guys." I cringed as I recalled the memory. I swear, those fan-girls were _insane!!!_

They were even worse than the ones back at Honey Boarding School, who actually _sneaked_ into the yearbook committee room and ripped, photocopied, and left lipstick marks all over the pictures of us! Drove me nuts. Paul and Gary made quick work of them after killing our main target. Drew and I just stayedout.

"Yeah, I didn't expect you to be so famous," Misty added. I shrugged and grinned at her, and she blushed once more. _This will be easy._

"You kept talking to us! And then _they_ tried to kill us, literally!" a voice yelled indignantly and furiously. Paul and Ash looked ahead, wondering who was talking, but Dawn and Misty recognized the voice at once.

"May!" they exclaimed. "What's wrong?"

"That…that…that _Drew!_" May spluttered furiously.

"You know you love me." Drew smirked, passing by her and flicking his hair.

"_Drew_," May began, trying to hold her anger back, "kept talking to us, and then all the stupid fan-girls kept–"

"Hey, I have to go," I interrupted, feeling my communication device vibrate in my pocket. Remembering Victoria, I felt a bit of sadness. It wasn't fair that that sixteen year old girl had to die…or was she not dead? Who killed Victoria, or at least cut her connection to us? Or who did what or … oh, I lost myself there.

Whatever. Anyways, I indicated to my pocket and the rest of the guys got the hint. Coming over to me, Gary ordered, "Pick it up."

"Yes Master," I said cheekily, but pulled it out. Flicking it to get the screen on, I saw only a lighter gray than the black screen. The Commander.

"Commander?" Gary asked with obvious surprise. The Commander almost never called us, especially on a mission.

"_Killed those girls yet?"_ he purred. I flinched at the sugar in his voice and I saw Drew and Paul exchange an uneasy look.

"Not yet," Drew answered uncomfortably – where it was from the Commander's voice or from the fact that we haven't killed the girls, I couldn't tell.

"_Why not?" _The Commander sounded shocked. _"Didn't you want revenge?"_

"You mind telling us why?" Gary demanded heatedly. "If their parents killed ours, so what? Yeah, I know those were our parents, then I feel sorry for them, but I never knew them so it doesn't matter. Why kill the girls?"

"_Is Auburn____falling?"_ the Commander growled, switching from sympathetic to angry.

"I am not!" Gary snapped at the phone furiously. "I'm just _asking_!"

"Answer us, or we're leaving," Paul added, his voice cold. The Commander recognized the threatening undertone in Paul's voice, and it looked like he shuddered. Paul was really scary, and I had to say that the only person the Commander seemed to be afraid of _was_ Paul.

"_I figured you wanted revenge,"_ the Commander explained, a sullen tone taking over.

"Considering I don't even know my parents, I don't feel any revenge," Drew remarked casually.

"_Oh, you may not, but __Paul__ does, am I correct?"_ the Commander sneered. Paul stiffened and I remembered that he did in fact remember his parents and was there when they were killed.

"That's no excuse to murder these girls," Paul said coldly.

"Tell us this," I butted in, "Who's parents killed who?"

"_Oh, I figured you'd ask,"_ the Commander laughed. _"Let's see. As you have conveniently chosen, Forest's parents were killed by the Maples. Auburn's parents were killed by the Greens… Shadow's parents were … oh!"_

"What?" I demanded.

"_Apparently Shadow's parents were in a fight with Waterflower _and_ Berlitz family! Sky'sparents were siding with Shadow's…until they were killed, one by one. The young Misty and Dawn were apparently at the site and…"_

"What? What happened?" Drew exclaimed. The line went dead. Clearly, the Commander wasn't about to tell us that bit of key information.

We looked at each other.

"I'm going to kill that May," Drew growled suddenly. "If it wasn't for her parents, I would still have parents and…"

"We get the point," Gary said lazily. "Keep it down: it's not like the girls will disappear or anything."

"Hey, Dawn!" a blond-haired boy called excitedly. "I have something to show you! Empoleon wants to show your Piplup a new move!" Dawn looked up, her eyes brightening at the entrance of her friend.

"Barry!" she grinned. "Nice to see you again! You were sick for how long?"

"A week," Barry groaned. "It was pure torture! Bugsy made me stay in bed for that long, even when I just had a sniffle!" Dawn laughed. Misty and May came over to see what it was all about and Leaf followed.

"Oh, hey, Tycooné," Misty greeted cheerfully. "How was your torture?"

"As you heard, it was just great," Barry replied sarcastically. "What do you think?"

"I'd define it as 'not so great'," May said, puzzled.

"He was being sarcastic, May," a white-haired boy sighed, coming over and giving her a pat on the head.

"I'm not a five-year-old," May shot back. "I can take care of myself, Brendan Birch."

"Of course," Brendan amended hastily, drawing his hand back. "Just worried." May's eyes softened.

"Hey, how about we go to the cafeteria?" May suggested. "I could use a snack!"

"As usual," Brendan grinned. "Let's go." May and Brendan headed to the cafeteria.

"Do they have time?" I asked curiously to Misty.

"Oh, yes. Considering May eats fast," Misty replied absentmindedly, looking around. I looked at her, confused.

"Are you looking for someone?" I asked.

"Nope," Misty answered. "Just remembering…something."

"Which is?" I questioned. Misty got irritated and smacked my head with the palm of her hand. I flinched. "OW! What was that for, Myst?!"

"Keep your nose out of my business," Misty snapped.

_Geez, man this girl _is_ tough!_ I groaned mentally and smiled at her.

"Sorry," I apologized, figuring the old Gary style (the I-apologize-with-a-stupid-looking-grin style) would work on her. To my immense surprise, it did.

"Whatever," she sighed. "I wonder where my parents are…"

"Huh? Are they still alive?" I asked stupidly. Then, realizing what I said, I amended hastily, "I mean, where are they now?" I still realized how stupid I sounded. Shrugging it off mentally, I decided I'd play the fool and silly guy who'd try to win Misty's terrible heart (man, I would _so_ get an acting prize for that! Imagine it!).

"Oh yes, they're _totally_ still alive!" Misty said immediately…_too_ immediately. I knew she was lying.

"C'mon, Myst, you're lying," I coaxed. Pikachu made a race of electricity go down my body and I realized that I'd switched tactics. _Stupid Gary lessons…_

"I am _not_ lying!" Misty snapped, slapping my head. Ouch. She would pay…later. "My parents _are_ alive!"

"Okay, Myst," I said, trying not to sound skeptical.

"They are," Misty said with a trembling look on her face that I knew I shouldn't press on. "They're just somewhere that I don't know."

"Hm…" I wondered back at what the Commander had nearly told us before. Something was digging at me…and it seemed that…the Commander was lying.

**Still Ash's POV**

Paul tensed suddenly and I looked at him in confusion. Then I realized his communication device was _vibrating_. And only one person called Paul.

_Victoria._

But she was dead…right? Or not?

If that was truly Victoria, she staged her death really well. If it wasn't Victoria then…we were dead.

The reason? Paul is the _leader_ of us. If anyone else but Victoria called him that meant we were in serious danger. No one else besides the Commander should know Paul's number and it was only at Victoria's furiousness and persistency that she too knew his number.

"What are you waiting for?" I urged. "Pick it up!" Paul hesitated and his hand hovered over his pocket reluctantly.

"Dude, just pick it up already," Drew snapped. Paul pressed the button and held it to his ear.

"_Shadow, you're being watched!"_ a sudden shriek shocked all four of us. _"I repeat, you're being watched! You will be betrayed!"_

"That's not Victoria…is it?" Gary asked shakily. I nodded.

"That's Victoria…" But I knew there was something wrong. Victoria was always calm unless something _really_ frightened her. Which meant something had really frightened her, and it took a lot of frightening frights (does that even make sense?) to scare her.

"_Shadow, Shadow, please answer me!"_ the girl begged. Paul was looking worried, for once, and complied.

"What is it, Lilac?" he asked quietly. Lilacwas Victoria's code name.

"_The Commander has betrayed you! Be on the watch for his betrayal that may strike any minute!"_ I counted. One, two, three, four, five, six exclamation mark sentences. That wasn't like Victoria.

"What happened?" Drew said urgently. "Victoria, you're not usually like this."

"_There's no time!"_ Victoria cried, her voice cracking. _"Believe me when I say this: I care about all of you, okay? I don't care that you guys don't care about anyone else, I care about _you!_ So I'm doing this at my own risk, just to save you!"_

"Who said we don't care about you?" I demanded. Victoria ignored me, or she didn't hear me. I sighed. Seven, eight, nine.

"_Just be careful. Trust no one but yourselves, including girls, because you never know who the Commander will send."_

"I thought you had died!" I tried to talk to her again. This time she replied.

"_Well, that was needed. Anyways, I have to go, so be careful._"

"Wait a minute, why is your voice so clear?" Gary asked. "It would usually be cracking."

But the line had gone dead, and Victoria was gone from our reach again. Who knows how long it'll take for her to call again? For all we know…she would never talk to us again.

"There's one thing that confuses me," Drew said suddenly. "How would Victoria know all of this?"

"She isn't one of the Commander's favorites," Paul agreed, having the same question in mind. I tapped my foot thoughtfully as I mused.

"Do you think she's betraying us?" Gary asked.

"What?!" Paul, Drew, and I exclaimed simultaneously.

"Hold your Rapidash!" Gary protested. "I'm just naming possibilities!"

"Hang on, there's a message," Paul cut in, looking at the device. "It's from Lilac."

We peered at the white screen. The black words stood out against the white.

_Guardians_ was all it said. Well, along with Victoria's regular lilac symbol.

If we were anyone else, we would probably think it was Victoria's cheekiness, but we weren't anyone else.

We are the Assassins. We are the Ice-types. We are friends of Victoria. We are capable of knowing what the meaning was.

And let me tell you: Paul, Drew, and Gary weren't too happy about the message.


	6. Memories and Emotions

Yippee! I finally updated!I hope you enjoy it and** please answer the questions below!**

**

* * *

**

Blood. Hazy, red, dripping fluid…falling. Falling…splattering on the dusty dirt floor.

_"No…"_ a terrified and weak whisper sliced through the frigid and silent air.

"Mother!" a young girl shrieked, trying to fight her way through…something; something holding her back. "No!" Another girl a year older fought through as well.

"I'm not letting you past!" the 'thing' holding them back was in fact an older boy with a fierce determination in his voice. He nodded to another, who gripped a knife.

"Come any closer and I'll slice your heart out," the boy with the knife spat.

"Good luck with that," the killer sneered.

"You're only seven! How can you kill already with such deadly accuracy?" the older boy snarled, putting his arms around the first girl, who was shuddering.

"How do you know my age?" the seven-year-old growled. The second girl, who was seven herself, gasped and her jade eyes widened. The killer was only seven? And yet he had already killed their parents…

"Because we know you!" the boy with the knife shouted, going forward and slashing.

"Augh!" the seven-year-old yelled, recoiling. His arm was bleeding heavily.

"That's what you get," the boy with the now-bloody knife spit out. "Going against an eight-year-old."

"Why are you killing? We're so young!" the jade-green eyed girl cried out, running in front of them as the seven-year-old boy slashed forward.

"No!" the younger girl screamed. "Missy!" Missy fell forward, her arm deeply cut. The boy with the knife gasped and raced forward, picking her up and carefully pulling her back.

"Sun, it's too much," the boy with the youngest girl in his arms said grimly."We have to go." Sun spat furiously at the seven-year-old boy and picked up Missy.

"Nessa," the first boy said coldly to the girl in his arms, his coldness not directed at her but at himself for being too late. "We're going."

"But…River…" the girl whimpered. "How about Mama and Daddy?" River's eyes softened and his tears fell onto Nessa's dark hair. He didn't answer.

"I will kill you all!" the seven-year-old raged. "You'll pay!"

"We didn't do anything!" Sun shouted back. "We didn't do anything!"

"You did!" the seven-year-old yelled. "And you will _pay!"_ Nessa screamed in pain as a bullet grazed her shoulder.

"Nessa!" Missy lifted her head. "Are you okay?"

"Get out of here," Sun hissed to River. "Get the girls out."

"We're going together," River growled stubbornly.

"Then c'mon!" Sun shouted, grabbing his arm and gripping Missy's hand. Nessa gasped in pain once more as they raced for safety…wherever it would be.

"You self-murderer!" Nessa screamed. "You killed your own parents! We had nothing to do with it!" For a five-year-old, she had a pretty good – or should I say _bad_ – vocabulary.

"Nessa, it's not worth it," River said quietly to his sister.

"I don't care! I want to kill him!" Nessa cried, beating River's back with her fist.

"You can try, you stupid girl," the seven-year-old spat sneeringly at her. Nessa glared.

"We're leaving." Sun grabbed River's hand and they ran.

"Auburn! Shadow! Sky! Forest! Why are you letting them escape?" a furious man's voice yowled.

"They're not worth it," another boy spat.

"If you don't kill them, the secret will leak out!" the man yelled. "Get them now!"

"Fine, whatever." Another boy spoke and then a knife flew through the air.

"River!" Nessa screamed. River stumbled forward and collapsed on the ground, blood pooling from his left shoulder. Nessa was thrown forward, slamming against a tree. She stood up shakily, wiping the blood from her lip and wiping it off onto her blue skirt. Missy ran forward and used her scarf to soak up the blood from River that was on Nessa away.

"Revenge is ours," the man jeered. "This time, you will not survive, River," Nessa looked at her brother with horror glazing her eyes.

"Missy," Sun said warningly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Get Nessa out of here while I'll get River away." Missy nodded, not stopping to question her cousin's odd behavior.

"Nessa," Missy said softly, "We have to go." Nessa shook her head violently and only because of that did the weapon miss her—instead nestling in her hair.

"Ah!" she exclaimed, pulling it out of her dark hair. It was a glinting, jagged knife and the hilt was made of iron.

"Keep it," Sun advised. "It may prove useful."

"Sure," Nessa agreed. Then to their surprise, the seven-year-old came upon them, with a man in a shroud behind him.

"Time to kill the brother," the man sneered. "You're too late, Sun. What a pity—you could have stayed in the Assassin group and saved both yours _and_ River's lives. Not to mention also perhaps the girls' lives as well."

"I chose this way of life—the good way of life—for a reason," Sun responded coldly. He pulled out a slender sword and swung, hitting a tree and toppling it over.

"You've gotten better," the man in the shroud smirked. "You should be proud."

"I am," Sun said steadily. "I'm proud now that my skill can be used for protecting instead of killing."

"Pity it will be wasted," the man sighed, almost as if he _was_ thinking it was a pity.

"It will not be wasted," River spat, struggling to get up. The man kicked him in the head, sending him sprawling.

"River!" Nessa screamed, dashing forward but was slapped away by the seven-year-old. His dark eyes glared at her and she trembled under his furious gaze.

"_Run!"_ Sun yelled, giving Nessa and Missy a push. "Get out of here!"

"No!" Nessa cried. The seven-year-old slammed into Nessa, causing her to skid backwards. She shrieked and Missy grabbed her arm, dragging her quickly through the dark forest.

"Too bad," The man sighed. "Time to die, River."

"Die another day!" River spat. He sent his weapon, the end of his sword, at the man's face, revealing his identity. River gaped. "Y-you…"

"I thought we could trust you!" Sun accused, keeping an eye on the knife pointed threateningly towards him in the hand of the seven-year-old.

"Trust is cheap." The man kicked River harshly in the head and River fell forward with a splash in his own blood.

"River…" Sun looked with weariness and almost no emotion as he watched his comrade leave his body—and the world—for a better place.

"You're alone." The man smirked, "Where to now, Sun?"

"Time to start fresh," Sun replied. "Empoleon, Hydro Cannon!" He threw out a Poké Ball and an Empoleon sent a fresh jet of water at the two.

"Why didn't you use your Pokémon before and save your life, boy?" the man shouted in outrage as he was sent flying. The seven-year-old kept his ground, however, and lashed out at Sun, who fell back with a cry of pain.

"Mark my words," the boy growled, "I will find those two girls and kill the younger one." Sun groaned as he sat up.

"You can't kill her," Sun snarled as he managed to stand steady on his feet. "I'll be protecting her for as long as I live, and with my skills I'll live longer than River has." The other boy looked scornfully at River's dead body.

"Good luck, dead boy," he hissed, and then flew—on his Honchkrow—away…

* * *

Dawn sat up with a jolt, her head cradled in her arms as she gasped with the intense pain. _Augh! Ow…no…go away…_she cried silently.

That nightmare…

Dawn had always had that nightmare since she was young. Since it took place at night, she couldn't tell the features of the people in the shadowy dream.

But ever since she had seen Paul's face the dream had become even more vivid—and with the vivid memory came more intense pain.

"Dawn? Dawn? What's wrong?" Misty exclaimed, coming over and giving the younger girl a hug.

"It hurts…" the blunette whimpered. She cupped her shoulder. "It hurts…" Misty's jade-green eyes widened.

"Uh-oh," she whispered. "Dawn, did you have that nightmare again?"

"Yes…"

"What happened?"

"…Who's River?" Dawn asked tearfully. Misty bit her lip.

"River…do you mean Lucas?" she countered evasively.

"No, Riv—Lucas is River?" Dawn shouted. Misty threw her hand over the younger girl's mouth. Too late.

"Shut up!" she hissed, "Do you want everyone to know who Lucas really was?" Misty was troubled. She had looked outside of the window and saw with growing horror that Gary and Drew were for some reason stationed outside their window. She knew what was happening.

They were being hunted.

"W-what?" Dawn was at a loss. "River is Lucas…Lucas is River…" Her eyes widened in realization.

That nightmare…was about _them_.

* * *

Drew was shaken awake.

"What is it?" he grumbled, opening his eyes. He saw Gary. Drew sat up. "What is it?" he repeated.

"Did you hear what someone said?" Gary asked.

"How would I, unless it was when I was awake or in the boys' dormitory?"

"If you hadn't noticed, green-boy," Gary snapped, "We're outside the girls' dormitory right now."

"Why on earth are you guys here?" Paul called, coming over.

"It's a good thing, actually," Drew reported. He pointed upwards. "That's Dawn's and Misty's dormitory. We just heard Dawn scream."

"Your point?"

"Remember River?" Gary demanded. "River…the boy who died attempting to protect Sun, 'Nessa', and 'Missy'?" Paul raised an eyebrow.

"And you know Dawn has an older brother named Lucas," Drew picked up. "Well…"

"Dawn shouted 'Lucas is River!' just a few minutes ago," Ash finished, who had come up earlier and heard the last phrase. Paul's eyes widened, and Drew gaped.

"So Dawn is Nessa," Drew murmured, piecing it together. "Missy is Misty…"

"But then who's Sun?" Paul asked.

"Guess," Gary urged. "Who is the boy who always is near Dawn and Misty? Who is the boy who always seems so energetic near Dawn?"

They knew the answer before Drew said it.

"Barry."

* * *

**Drew's POV**

Realizing that the people who had been Paul's first victims were the people we were aiming to kill, I was shocked. Truly shocked.

No wonder Paul seemed so bitter towards Dawn.

I wandered down the hallways to the cafeteria. _That explained Dawn and Misty and their past_, I thought to myself, _but how about May and Leaf? What's _their_ story?_

"Hey, Drew!" I was shaken out of my thoughts by the cheery voice of May.

"Maple," I said, turning to look at her. I saw that her neck was exposed and I longed to just _finish_ it off, as in grab her shoulders and slit her throat simply and be done.

The Commander was right. This was no easy job. This had more twists than an average Assassin mission.

But wait…the Commander was _there_ when Paul had done his first Assassin job. He _knew_ who Sun, River, 'Nessa', and 'Missy' were—I mean, _are_. So why had he made us go on this mission without telling us the backgrounds?

He used this as a cover-up for 'these girls' parents killed yours'. Wow. Really? I mean, if he wanted us to kill them so badly, he could have just _told_ us the stupid truth from the beginning. It's not like it's a huge mystery why…anyways, it was _Paul_ who had killed Dawn's and Misty's parents, and Paul's parents had already been killed before that! I have no recollection and neither do Ash or Gary.

And where was Victoria among all this? Was Gary right, and Victoria a traitor? Was she really just baiting us on, or was she truly someone we could trust?

"Drew, do you want to eat that sandwich?" May asked. I looked down at my sandwich, and then passed it to her. Looking around, I saw that Dawn and Misty were talking quietly with Leaf and—go figure—Barry.

"Thank you, Drew!" May cheered happily. Leaning over, she gave me a quick peck on the cheek before walking away to join the others. I wondered where Ash, Paul, and Gary were. Then I spotted Gary and stumbled over to him, my mind whirling.

"Whoa, man, why'd a simple kiss on the _cheek, _not the lips, freak you out like that?" Gary asked me, smirking. I wiped my cheek with disgust.

"Don't you _dare_ ever mention this again," I threatened, walking away from the cafeteria."Or you might wake up with your throat slit and watching from the underworld."

Gary didn't press it. I smirked victoriously, but then my mind wandered—to May. To her attitude, her looks, her crazy hunger…really strange, and different from any of the other girls I've killed.

Yeah, I said _killed_. Which I've done without remorse, by the way.

Would I have the guts to kill her when the time came? Or would I back away like a lovesick coward?

I shook my head. I was not, let me repeat NOT, falling for May Maple. No way.

* * *

**Third Person's POV**

The night fell like swathes of black material across the sky. The moon appeared, as if by magic, in the inky-black expanse above, glowing luminiously as if it was a pearl.

It was underneath this sky where Drew was standing. He couldn't help but remember the feeling of May's kiss against his cheek and he knew his face was now burning.

He now recalled reading on May's profile (he was now almost 100% that the Internet site was made from stalkers) that she absolutely loved the moonlight, and was nicknamed 'Moonlit Girl', and he was reminded profusely of May by the moon.

_You can try to resist  
Try to hide from [her] kiss_

Which was precisely what he was doing. He _wanted_ revenge…and he didn't know why. That was the way of the Assassins: kill if confused or emotional. That was the way he had been brought up.

_But you know  
But you know that you can't fight the moonlight  
Deep in the dark  
You'll surrender your heart_

Drew shook his head. Where was his imagination going? Sure, he had encountered many girls with May's looks, or nearly May's looks, but none of them had had her…whatever you call it! Her _attitude!_ Most girls he had met—they had all acted girly. For goodness sakes, Drew knew that DAWN and LEAF were girly! Misty was a little different but he was _totally_ not into her. May on the other hand…Drew shuddered violently. _She was familiar._

_But you know  
But you know that you can't fight the moonlight  
No you can't fight it  
No matter what you do  
The night is gonna get to you _

He _knew_ her. Just like Paul knew Misty and Dawn…Drew knew _May_. But the problem then was…

_Don't try then  
You're never gonna win_

_You can try to resist  
Try to hide from [her] kiss  
But you know  
But you know that you can't fight the moonlight  
Deep in the dark  
You'll surrender your heart  
But you know  
But you know that you can't fight the moonlight  
No, you can't fight it_

Drew didn't remember when. And now he was afraid that he never would.

The reason why was obvious to everyone but him until that very moment. Drew Hayden, the one known for his sadistic humor and assassinating skills, had actually fallen in love—with the exact same girl he had to kill.

_…It's gonna get to your heart…_

* * *

May knew it.

She just knew it.

What? She knew what?

May knew _Drew_. She knew who he was.

"Oh my gosh," she whispered to herself. "Drew is an Assassin!"

And with a sinking feeling, she remembered what her parents always said, _"May, when you're older, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed in who you find you love."_ They didn't mean about Drew, of course—unless they knew.

May's head spun with the effort of trying to keep everything in place. "Ugh," she muttered. "Drew is an Assassin…but he's totally different now than he was before."

Like Drew, she knew she was falling in love with the person who she didn't want to be in love with…and she also knew, like Drew, that there was no way to fight it.

For this connection between her and Drew—like Dawn and Paul—had a much more deeper, _darker_, meaning than it seemed. For if May dug below the surface, she knew she was going to come across secrets she would rather have left undiscovered.

But it was too late. She had taken the path, and there was no going back.

Now, the only thing left for her was to break the news to her friends. But Assassin-related or not related, her friends were going to kill her.

* * *

Ooh, I love this chapter! Drew is falling for May, May is already in love with Drew since she was younger—so it seems—and she also knew that somehow Drew is an Assassin, and she also knows there is a deep connection—not filled with love, but hatred—between Paul and Dawn.

So how does May know that?

What is Barry's and the late Lucas's connection with the Assassins? How longer will Barry and Misty be able to protect Dawn from the real truth?

Since the story hasn't centered much on them, how does this story tie in with Gary's and Leaf's pasts…and are they connected?

And worst of all: how will the other three girls react when they find out that the boys they like and are spending time with are actually Assassins—people sent to kill them?

Review please!


	7. Mistakes

**_~ A S S A S S I N G U A R D I A N S ~_**

Good to be back!

I don't know if this was clear last chapter, but this was what was revealed:

Barry is Sun, and Lucas (Dawn's deceased older brother) is River, who used to be part of the Assassins, but disbanded so they wouldn't be murdering anymore. The Assassins sent some of their youngest Assassins (though very well trained) to kill Dawn's and Lucas's parents, and the young Assassins succeed in doing that, and the Commander also succeeds in killing River for revenge, but Sun managed to get Misty (called 'Missy') and Dawn (called 'Nessa') away, and also managed to flee himself.

Also, it was revealed through Dawn's dream. Misty softly explained everything to the blunette, and as Dawn cried out, "Lucas is River?" the boys heard as well, so it gave them the clear story.

Drew was kissed on the cheek by May, and his feelings surfaced. He tried to fight back, and it was yet to be known if he succeeded.

Unfortunately for the Ice-types, May had found out who Drew was—an Assassin. And she was just on her way to tell the girls…

* * *

May raced towards the girls' dormitory, intent on telling her friends immediately about Drew and what she suspected about the other boys.

Drew belonged to a dark organization called simply the Assassins. They killed anyone they were sent to kill, and May knew that she and the other three girls had to be the targets.

And she knew that Drew would not hesitate to kill her.

She didn't know for absolute certainty that the other three boys were Assassins, but she knew that it was about ninety-nine percent likely. And if that was true, May needed to warn them!

She was still outside, and was just about to pass the boys dormitory when she stepped on a twig.

_SNAP!_

May froze. That was a mistake, and she knew it.

She just didn't know how much of a mistake it was at the time.

* * *

Drew's head snapped up, instantly alert when he heard a twig crack.

Gazing behind him, he caught sight of red and white. May, of course.

Drew sighed; he didn't feel like dealing with May at the moment. But he changed his mind almost at once. May had picked up her pace again and he had heard her mutter one word. _Assassins_.

His eyes widened. He didn't care if May was talking about something else. But he couldn't risk it.

Picking up his communication device and dialing a few numbers, he said into the mouth piece, "Stop May."

The person on the other end responded, "Will do."

* * *

May raced towards the girls' dormitory as fast as she could, but she had to cover a lot of distance. However…

Something stopped her. Actually, someone.

"Hey, May," Gary greeted. "Why are you running?"

"Um…to get some exercise," May lied unconvincingly. Gary's eyes widened.

"At night?" May felt herself starting to panic.

"Uh…there's no one usually around to make fun of me," May evaded.

She knew that Gary wasn't buying her story. Instantly, she heard, "Glalie!" and knew she was being stopped.

Ice flitted around her, freezing her in place. Her eyelids closed against her will and she lost consciousness.

She felt herself being lifted by someone else and taken somewhere—away from the girls dormitory, though, away from telling the girls a truth they should have known.

A truth that could have prevented the greatest mistake of their lives…and the great price they would have to pay.

* * *

"Not good," Drew muttered. "Not good…" He paced around the room, trying to think of a way to stop May and explain everything to his friends.

"Hayden, you've been repeating that phrase for the past few minutes. What's on your mind?" Paul asked with annoyance.

"May knows we're Assassins," Drew spat.

"What?" Gary exclaimed. "How?"

"You know how _your_ past is linked to Misty's and Dawn's?" Drew said to Paul, who nodded. "Well, _my_ past is connected with May's. _Really_ connected."

"How connected is 'really' connected?" Ash interrupted.

"As in really, really," Drew replied. "May and I were friends when we were much younger. More than friends, in fact. In truth, you could say that she loved me, and I was actually pretty fond of her. But after a while, her parents started getting nosy. Very nosy. So I had to shut them up somehow. Instead of killing them, though that is what I regret not doing, I came to their door with a basket of treats from my mother. She—as she was part of the organization herself—had put in a tasteless poison that would not be fatal but would erase the minds of whoever ate it about the person who brought that treat, which was me. The plan worked…only seventy-five percent though. Max, her younger brother, and her parents forgot about me, but May did not eat the treats, so her mind was not erased."

"Wouldn't May usually be the one who ate the whole basket?" Ash asked.

"Not that time," Drew replied. He looked scornfully at the figure of May lying on the couch in his room. "My mom and I moved away to the Assassin base while May was nearly heartbroken that I left. Ever since then, I was hoping to forget about her, too, and here she appears again."

"Do you think we should kill her now?" Gary suggested.

"Too obvious," Paul growled. "If we want to kill her, we have to kill them all at once so it isn't so suspicious."

"But what do we do with May? As soon as we let her go, she'll tell her friends," Ash said.

"I have a heavy dose of that poison I was speaking about earlier," Drew offered.

"We need to get her (to?)get ill," Gary determined.

"How about both?" Ash asked, his eyes glinting. "Perfect excuse and erasing her memories at the same time."

"Great idea," Paul agreed. "Now, hurry."

"Hang it(on?)!" Ash interrupted. "How?"

"How about when she wakes up we'll give her a meal? Or how about make sure she stays unconscious until breakfast, then slip it into her food?" Drew suggested.

"Are you insane? It's past midnight now!" Gary protested.

"Well, let's just feed it to her secretly and then say we found her outside, fast asleep," Paul snapped, impatient. "Get to it."

Drew grabbed a clear bottle from his bag and Paul looked over it critically.

"It looks like water," Ash said doubtfully.

"That's because it _is_ water, dimwit," Drew snapped. "But the poison is clear as well."

"Make her drink it already," Gary said, impatient.

"Hold your Ponyta," Drew grumbled, going over to May. "There. Happy?"

"Now, how do we get her sick?" Ash asked.

"How about we truly poison her?" Gary suggested. "It could be that she dies slowly."

Ash and Paul agreed immediately, and Drew gave his consent after a brief hesitation.

Gary got the poison ready and went over to May.

Drew sighed. _I'm an Assassin and this is what I do_, he reminded himself sternly. But still…there were some emotions that being an Ice-type still couldn't suppress or change.

* * *

It was the next evening. The boys were avoiding the girls and Drew was cursing himself for the mistake he had made about ten years earlier.

_How_ May had recognized him was a mystery. One that would never be solved, since there was no way to reverse the poison that Drew had given May.

May had completely forgotten everything. She had forgotten the friend she had been in love with, she forgot that she even recognized Drew and had her suspicions about the other boys, and she was sick to her stomach on top of it.(Dude that sucks...makes me want to cry for real...)

Leaf and Misty had told Gary that May seemed to have been slightly poisoned by some method of putting a dose in her drink or her food, and Gary had commented nonchalantly that May had eaten so much the previous night that that was the reason. Leaf and Misty had bought it, it seemed, but the Ice-types knew that Misty was more cautious and observant than she let on. After all, she had been the traitor among the Assassins.

When Ash reached his room, he looked around and then ducked in. He, Drew, and Gary had forced Paul to promise to tell them about Barry, Lucas, Misty, and Dawn. But to his surprise, he saw someone very familiar in his room, holding something that glinted in his hand.

As a caution, Ash noticed at once it was the person's 'expert-hand'. The one he excelled at the most, and as that person was apparently right-handed, it was in his right.

"So, Ketchum," he said. "You know any of the girls?"

"None," Ash lied, his tone made slightly confused. "Why? Who are you? And why are you here?"

"Let's just say that if you know Misty," the person said, "You're going to experience something very…painful."

"Painful?" Ash instantly pulled out a knife and aimed it at the person. "You're Rudy Trovitan, one of Misty's assigned 'protectors', aren't you?"

Rudy chuckled. "You're a very lucky guy, Ash Ketchum. Too bad you're an Assassin."

A different blade flashed in the air, and Ash gave a cry. Rudy jumped back, his dagger soaked in bright red blood—belonging to Ash.

The raven-haired Assassin gasped and stumbled back, his hand covering his chest, where a bright red stain was beginning to spread throughout his shirt. The blade had stabbed right beside his heart. Ash knew that Rudy hadn't missed: he was an experienced blade-wielder(elemental slightly!), and Rudy had changed his aim on purpose. Most likely to convey a message to the rest of the Ice-types.

"Ash!" a girl's voice cried out. Misty was beside him in an instant, and glared up at Rudy. Pikachu was on her shoulder.

"Misty." Rudy said. Misty turned away and focused her attention on Ash.

"Ash," Misty whispered. "Oh, Ash. Open your eyes, please."

Gary bent down beside Ash, then fixed his glare at Rudy. "Traitor," he spat. Rudy glared back.

A gunshot echoed through the air and Misty screamed, then looked back at the middle door connecting Paul's and Drew's room to Ash's and Gary's. Drew was calmly holding a pistol in his right hand. Paul was glaring coldly at Rudy with a slightly different-shaped pistol in his hand, cocked and ready to shoot if necessary.

Rudy stepped back and coughed. Misty covered her eyes and tried to block out the sounds of the next gunshot.

"Rudy?" she whispered, lifting her head from her arms and looking at the once-proud person, whose face had now gone a deathly white.

His eyes were defiant and baleful, but it was clear to everyone that the light was dying from them. Before he truly died, though, Weavile stepped forward and immediately teleported him to Arceus-knows-where.

Misty drew a shuddering breath, tears filling her eyes. Then her eyes—already the color—hardened as if jade.

"Don't give me any of that poison made for me to forget things," Misty snarled. "I know all your Assassin tricks, and May's not the only one to know who you four are."

"That conflicts with why you didn't assist Trovitan." Paul came over.

"That's not the way Rudy should have taken it," Misty retorted. "That's why I didn't help."

"You know we can just finish off half of our job now, right?" Gary said. "We can just kill you as you are, defenseless."

"Oh, I'm not defenseless," Misty countered. "And I'm taking that you poisoned May enough to kill her, right?" Her tone was sharp.

"We can kill you right here and now," Gary repeated. "And no one will ever know, because we'll shoot the other girls and leave."

"Well then," Misty growled. "Why don't you?"

As a response, Gary picked up Ash's un-bloodied knife and gazed at it thoughtfully.

"This might work," Drew murmured.

* * *

Dawn groaned and rolled over in her bed. She had gone to bed early that night, feeling as if she need to escape to sleep to lose her thoughts. Unfortunately, she couldn't fall asleep.

"Ugh!" Dawn sat up and rubbed at her eyes. "When is 'Dream Land' when you need it?"

She sighed, not expecting an answer.

Dawn had come to her own conclusions that if Paul was an Assassin, then the rest of the boys—Ash, Drew, and Gary—were Assassins too. Unlike May, she became firmly convinced that all four were part of the Assassins organization. Call her assumption too impulsive, but that's what she was thought.

(And you, readers, know she's right. Sadly, Dawn had no hardcore evidence to support her assumption.)

Dawn shifted and then turned to face Misty's bed. To her surprise, the orange-haired girl was gone.

"Misty?" Dawn whispered in the dark. "Where…where did you go?"

A gunshot shattered in the air and Dawn heard Misty scream, which Misty didn't do often. Dawn sat upright, tense.

"What's wrong?" she cried softly.

The peace at Darkstone Academy was gone. Now, Dawn knew that there were four Assassins that were going to kill her. As far as her mind worked, they had almost succeeded with May.

And judging by Misty's scream, they were about to succeed with Misty as well.

Dawn threw off her covers and grabbed the nearest weapon at hand—a knife from the kitchen, freshly sharpened.

One word pounded in her head as she hesitated in her room—REVENGE.

Would she take it?

* * *

More cliffhangers! I'm starting to think this story's chapters will always be cliffhangers…eh, who knows?

Anyways, review please, and I hope you like it!

I'm leaving for a while on vacay so don't expect me to update until like July 11ish or so, okay? Bye!


	8. Time and Change

**_~ .A. .S. .S. .A. .S. .S. .I. .N. .G. .U. .A. .R. .D. .I. .A. .N. .S. ~_**

_Thanks, everyone, for wishing me a good vacation! It was awesome! And I'm back earlier so I got to type more! I'm grateful for all the reviews you've given me: this is the MOST SUCCESSFUL STORY I'VE EVER WRITTEN. Thank you all so, so much!_

* * *

**Leaf's POV** (A/N: yep, now it's Leaf!)

My eyes slowly opened as I heard a scream (which I dismissed) and May groan in her sleep. I sighed in sympathy.

As I had told Gary, May had seemed like she'd been poisoned. How, who, and why, we didn't know, but I had a feeling that Misty knew more than she let on.

I didn't buy Gary's evasive story of May eating too much: for Ho-oh's sake, May hadn't eaten _that_ much at dinner!

I got up and went over to May, switching the light on as I walked. May's forehead was beaded with sweat and she was pale. Her face was twisted in pain and she was in a curled position. I put my hand on her forehead and gasped. I had expected it to be burning, but instead it was freezing cold.

I opened the door that connected Dawn's and Misty's room to ours, to call either Misty or Dawn or both over. Imagine my surprise when I saw Dawn holding a sharp knife in her hands and her eyes tightly shut as if in pain.

"Dawn!" I cried. "What are you doing?"

"Paul is an Assassin," Dawn muttered, opening her eyes. Her eyes had a wild look in them and I became worried.

Assassin. _Assassins_.

I thought for a moment, and realized what Dawn was saying. I had never experienced an Assassin attack before, but I've heard of them. Cold-blooded murderers that had no compassion.

"If Paul was an Assassin, doesn't that mean that Ash, Drew, and Gary were too?" I questioned worriedly. Dawn nodded dully.

"That's what I think…" Dawn cried out suddenly. "Misty! That's what I was going to do! Misty's gone!"

"Misty's _gone_?" I exclaimed.

"What I think happened is that they had poisoned May and kidnapped Misty to kill her too! We're next!" Dawn was freaking out, and I had to stop that.

"What makes you think Misty just didn't go for something outside or to train her Pokémon?" I asked frantically.

"I heard Misty shriek!" Dawn cried.

"Misty doesn't usually scream," I said, trying to piece it together. _That_ must have been the scream I had heard earlier.

"We need to find her," Dawn urged.

"How?" I demanded, and I knew how she felt as her face fell.

Helpless.

* * *

So much for her brave words. She was scared.

_Well then,_ she repeated herself dully in her mind. _Why don't you?_

She then repeated the rest of the conversation as it quickly skimmed through her mind.

Gary. _He picked up Ash's knife and was now gazing at it._

Drew. _This might work._

What_ might work?_

Misty backed away from the boys, keeping a sharp eye on Ash, whom she hoped would recover.

"Going somewhere?" A girl's voice stopped Misty in her tracks.

"I thought you were miles away!" Gary exclaimed in shock, seeing the girl behind Misty.

"Yeah right," the girl replied, tossing her glistening black hair with a scoff over her shoulder. "Looks like you guys need help." Her amethyst eyes were amused.

"No kidding, Victoria!" Drew said sarcastically. Misty tried to make a run for it, but Victoria grabbed her arm and throwing her over her shoulder.

"You can't evade me," Victoria growled, twisting Misty's arms behind her back. As the pain flooded through her, Misty threw her head back and screamed.

_I'm going to die!_

* * *

May screamed. A terrible migraine was killing her head, and her stomach felt as if someone had soaked it in acid. Her vision was dark, black, and streaked with red. Usually her favorite color…but in this case, it was _blood_. _Her_ blood. It was as if her vision was limited to being a glass window and outside was pure black midnight, with splashes of blood being slapped against the window and sticking.

The sound of humans falling and throaty cries filled her mind. _No…no…_

_"May! Get up!"_ she heard Dawn cry faintly.

_"She's in terrible pain…"_ Leaf whispered as May thrashed.

_"What did they do to her?" _Dawn demanded.

May gave into the pain, longing for the cool tide of sleep to wash away the blood and the fear that had gripped her. To her relief, the wave washed over her in a dreamless sleep…faraway from the pain and struggle of life.

Dawn had put away the knife, though her usually caring heart was filled with hate. She _wanted_ her revenge on Paul, and the rest of them, but mainly Paul, who had killed her parents and had caused the death of her brother, of whom she didn't know as well. If it wasn't for _Paul_, she would know them…and things might have been different.

"Dawn." Leaf had spoken quietly. Dawn turned to her friend.

"What is it?" she asked.

"What do you think the…Assassins will do to us now, now that we know their secret?" Leaf whispered.

Dawn's eyes grew shadowed. "Uh-oh," she said.

* * *

"We need to restart," Gary hissed to Paul.

"It's Drew who has that command and you know it," Paul growled.

"Then why not speak to me about it, instead of going through the brambles?" Drew said reasonably, pulling out his communication device. "Victoria, hold her back."

Victoria nodded, grappling with Misty, who was tougher than she let on. But as Misty grew tired, her arms started flailing as Victoria, who was stronger than Misty, managed to get her into a headlock.

"Press it, _now!"_ Gary commanded. Victoria looked over at them. _Before academy, _she mouthed.

The three boys nodded to show that they had received her message.

"Now, Ms. Waterflower, if you don't mind," Victoria said politely. "I think I'm going to have to use one of your weapons against you." She wrenched the famed 'Misty'-mallet out of the girl's hand and slammed it against the floor, shattering the mallet to pieces. Misty was rapidly weakening and tried to rush at Victoria and slash her.

Victoria sidestepped and used her own dagger to stab Misty at the side, causing Misty to fall over. "What a fire!" she muttered, slamming Misty against the wall and promptly knocking her out.

"Get over here," Drew said.

Victoria dashed over and took her place beside the Ice-types. "What happened to Ash?" she asked, gazing at the unconscious boy in front of her. She shook him, and his eyes opened, taking in Victoria and the ready-to-press-a-button Drew. Realization made him jolt wide awake and stand up.

"Protectors," Paul replied. "Drew, hit it already!"

"I'm doing it, I'm doing it!" Drew muttered, pushing the button on his communication device.

Instantly, a loud roar filled the room.

"That wasn't a mistake, was it?" Gary questioned.

"Nope," Drew answered. "That was the real thing."

"Whoa…" Victoria breathed, taking in the sight.

* * *

An angry howl split the air and made Leaf and Dawn cry out.

"What _is_ that?" Leaf demanded, clutching her skirt with horror. Dawn bit her lip—the sound was slightly familiar. Something that Misty had told her…

Something that she knew River—_Lucas_—had encountered, along with Barry…

A mysterious Pokémon only known as lore or myth to the outside world…

The key in the … _Assassins._

In a flash, Dawn knew what it was. Her eyes widened with shock and then clouded with dismay.

"Primal Dialga," she whispered. She looked at Leaf. "We have to go!"

"What? Where?" Leaf exclaimed.

"Leave May and go!" Dawn hissed, grabbing Leaf's arm. "Misty needs us."

"How do you know that?" Leaf demanded.

"It's just a feeling. But c'mon!"

The two girls dashed out of the room.

May turned over for the last time. The poison had reached her heart, and the sword slashing continuously at her window-like vision had reached through and struck her.

* * *

Misty bit her lip so hard it bled. Her head was bleeding, her arm was broken, her ribs felt broken as well, and her leg was twisted an unnatural angle.

_I'm dying…_she realized with terror. _Oh no! May…she's dying…Leaf and Dawn…they're going to die…and it's all my fault! I was supposed to be their protector…_

Drew looked over to the fire-tinted Dialga beside him.

"Time," he ordered calmly, pointing to the sky.

Dialga roared in response, and he started to glow.

_Time? What time?_

"Ready?" Victoria asked.

_Ready? Ready for what?_

"Let's go." Ash's voice.

_Ash! He's alive! Thank Ho-oh…but go where?_ She tried to turn around, but it felt as if there was shadow pulling at her vision, threatening to shroud it forever.

_Death comes swiftly_

_Lapping at your mind_

_Changing your view of the world_

_It's making you truly blind_

_Life is being stripped away_

_Every second it's leaving you_

_More and more, the darkness comes_

_It comes regardless of what you do_

_ As you turn cold and leave the earth_

_Salty, unnatural rain falls upon your grave_

_From your loved ones who miss you_

_And who wish you they had saved_

_Life is useless and there is no point_

_There is too much to 'accomplish' during that time_

_So what is the use?_

_Only a few reach their goals and in the world shine…_

Misty shut her eyes tightly as the poem filled her mind. Where it had come from, she didn't know, but it was filled with despair.

_Go._ The Pokémon's voice had a hint of anxiety.

"Is it ready?" Gary asked.

_It's ready. Go_, Primal Dialga repeated.

"Pity we have to go now," Victoria remarked. "I heard that May just died, and Misty is dying right now."

_May died?_

"Dawn and Leaf are alive and kicking," Paul reminded Victoria. His mouth twisted into a sly smirk. "And if we stayed, they'd probably do more than kicking."

"You're right," Victoria conceded. "Thanks, Dialga."

Misty struggled to get herself into a sitting position. Before she managed to do that, a flash of light and pain filled her. The world immediately disappeared, and soon, Misty disintegrated.

She didn't exist anymore, in any world or form. Neither did May…or Dawn…or Leaf. Or anyone, but the five Assassins and Primal Dialga.

* * *

The flash distributed them to the front of the school. Drew stumbled out first.

"That was fun!" Ash whooped, jumping out beside him.

"Not something I'd like to repeat again," Victoria snapped, shuddering. "Seeing everyone and everything turn to _nothing_ was freaky."

"You're an Assassin. Everything is creepy," Gary reminded her.

"Like, whatever."

"So, you'll be in this school too?" Paul asked.

"Looks like it," she smirked. "You guys need someone to watch over you."

"You're starting to sound like me," Drew said.

"I learn from the worst," Victoria joked.

"You mean the best."

"Nah, I didn't make a mistake."

"Shut up."

"Why?"

"Shut up, you guys," Paul growled.

"…"

"…"

"So, time has repeated itself?" Ash asked.

"Gone back. Primal Dialga made time go backwards. This is before we entered the academy, and so we know a lot in advance," Gary explained.

"Okay. So…just go in as normal?" Ash asked.

"Hang on." Paul sounded tense. "Something's wrong. It's not raining. It should be raining."

"Uh-oh…" Victoria muttered.

Time had changed.

* * *

**_HAS ANYONE FIGURED OUT THE REAL REASON THAT THE 'COMMANDER' HAD THE ICE-TYPES KILL THE GIRLS?_**

_Review please! I made up the despair poem that Misty hears...but please, that isn't true. One must always have hope.  
_

**_Oh, and by the way, for my Elements of the World readers, I'm working on the next chapter after a very long hiatus. So thanks for motivating me again to work on it! I hope I won't disappoint you, and I'll do everything in my power to not._**


	9. Harder Than You Know

**_~ .A. .S. .S. .A. .S. .S. .I. .N. .G. .U. .A. .R. .D. .I. .A. .N. .S. ~_**

* * *

**Victoria's POV**

"Who cares? Anyways, I know the reason for the time change." Ash shrugged indifferently. Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder.

We stared at him. "What?" I managed to say. He did? He was the stupid one!

"Duh! Vic's with us!" Ash said slowly, as if _he_ thought we were stupid.

"Do you think that's it?" Gary asked. Then he gazed up at the sky. "Yep, that fits."

"So does that mean something in the future is going to change?" I asked hesitantly.

"You bet it's going to change," Drew snapped, his emerald eyes flashing. "Stay away from the girls."

"We'll corner them later, and so they won't know us as well as they did," Paul added, catching onto Drew's plan quickly.

"What will _I_ do?" I demanded. Now that I was here, I wanted to _do_ something!

"Make friends with the girls. Or even better, become their 'rival', in a way," Gary suggested. I smirked.

"That'll be fun!" I exclaimed with a smirk.

"You're technically not supposed to be here though," Ash reminded me (it seemed as if all those boys do is remind, remind, and _remind_ me!).

"Kill someone who looks like me and I'll take their place," I replied, shaking my head back to get rid of the hair in my face.

"It's not that easy," Drew said. "What girl looks like Victoria with long black hair, blood-red flowers in her hair—"

"Hey, I can take them out!" I interrupted.

"And dark purple eyes? Not to mention her personality."

"I hate you, Drew," I muttered.

"Good to know," he retorted. "But seriously."

"Hey, I know! We'll 'pull some strings' and get her in the easy way!" Ash offered.

"_That_ easy way?" I asked.

"Why not?" Ash shrugged. "It's easier."

"Okay then," I grinned. "Go on."

The Ice-types entered the building and—if I'm correct—sort of changed the book where all the names of the students are kept, somehow hypnotized the staff and changed their memories about me, and came out in five minutes.

"You're all set," Gary informed me loftily. "Girls' dorm, second floor, room 20. First room in the hallway. And you get it all to yourself."

"Courtesy of?" I inquired, knowing that two people had to have died in the process.

"You don't need to know the details." Drew waved it off. "Go."

"Hey!" I yelled after their retreating backs. "Does that mean I get to keep the flowers?"

* * *

**Normal POV**

"That's taken care of. Now what do we do?" Ash asked.

"What did we do last time?" Drew responded. "Oh." He remembered in a flash. "We were discussing about the girls and then we played…Pokéopoly and _Go Magikarp!_."

"I vote for _Go Magikarp!_!" Ash vouched.

Before Gary could make a remark, Paul interrupted.

"Let's skip the game," he said tonelessly. "We need to get a new plan."

"We didn't encounter the girls, which is some advantage," Drew pointed out.

"Yes." Paul had another point in mind. "But the fan-girls might not turn out so well."

"Lay low," Gary suggested. "Wear the uniforms so we don't stand out."

"I hate those uniforms," Drew grumbled.

"Remember that Victoria told us about the 'Protectors' and the band of rogue Assassins?" Ash said. "That would come in handy."

Right after he finished speaking, a vibration in his pocket signaled a call. _Please, please, _please_ be Victoria and not the Commander._

He looked at it before giving a soundless cheer. It was Victoria.

"It's Victoria," he said aloud for the others' benefit.

"Great. Now tell us what she wants." Paul was always cold.

"It's a message, not a call," Ash elaborated.

**Girls are oblivious ~VL**

"A three-word message. Typical Victoria," Drew grumbled.

"It doesn't help," Gary snapped. His sharp eyes caught a message. "Hang on. G, A, O…"

"Gao? What the heck?" Ash questioned. "Goa?"

"Ago!" Gary said triumphantly. "Ago!"

"Which is?" Paul asked harshly.

"Which translates as in that the girls are acting normal, and as if nothing had ever happened and that we had never come!" Gary finished with a grin.

"Good job," Paul conceded grudgingly. Victoria was always known with her irritating short-cut messages that contained double meanings.

"Replying back," Ash said, texting a response.

"What did you type?" Gary asked, looking over his friend's shoulder.

**Message received ~I-Ts**

"That works," Gary said in satisfaction.

"Go to sleep earlier?" Drew suggested.

"That works. This time, don't shatter a plate or whatever and make sure everything is locked securely," Paul reminded them, before going into the next room with Drew.

"'This time, don't shatter a plate or whatever,'" Ash mimicked. Gary grinned.

"C'mon, Ashy-boy, let's go to sleep. If that was Waterflower, she'd never let you forget it."

* * *

**Next morning…**

"Breakfast time!" Ash announced. "I'm hungry!"

"Who isn't?" Gary demanded jokingly. "Race you!"

Ash, who could _never_ back down from a challenge (all four boys were similar that way), took a running stance but was interrupted by a holler.

"I LOVE DEFENSE!"

_Byron_. Of course.

Their counselor, Crasher Wake, entered, and told them quickly what would happen in the school while handing out their schedules.

To their surprise, they were different. All the boys, in every single class, were together, and after a quick discussion with Victoria, they found out she had the same class with them too.

"How?" Ash asked Victoria at the breakfast table.

"The Commander pulled some strings," Victoria replied, looking down at her outfit in disgust. She was wearing a dark gray pleated skirt, a white, long-sleeved blouse and a lighter gray vest with the Darkstone Academy symbol, a dark purple and dark green complicated knot, resembling a lunar eclipse, on the left side, and black dress shoes. The Ice-types recognized the uniform from earlier. "I hate these clothes."

"Live with it," Paul said harshly, sitting down. Victoria rolled her eyes and did the same.

"So, what do we do?" Ash inquired. He looked up and found his gaze drawn to a girl sitting down a few tables away. To his surprise, he couldn't tug his eyes away from her. Pale orange hair, flashing jade-green eyes, sun-tanned skin…her hair contrasting against the white and gray of her uniform…

"Hey, Ashy-boy, you're staring," Gary called. Ash blinked and wrenched his gaze away to glare at Gary.

"Ooh, Ash has fallen in love!" Victoria exclaimed.

"Shut up!" Ash hissed at Victoria. The black-haired girl grinned back at him—she _loved_ to tease the Ice-types.

"You're not denying it," she teased. Ash turned away, his face flushing red.

"Don't get too attached," Drew smirked. "You're going to have to kill her."

Ash blinked once more. He had forgotten that if…now that he had…he had to _kill_ her. But it was too late for him.

He got up abruptly and stumbled out of the room, his eyes blurred, ignoring Gary's exclamation.

He managed to go out into a courtyard and sat against a tree, emotion wrenching his heart.

_I don't know anything at all and I'm somebody else  
It could take years to find you, it could take years to find myself  
And I don't need to hear your answer I just need you to see  
That I think it's time to break down these walls that we throw up_

He had forgotten. It was too late.

_I have to kill her…I have to lose her…I have to murder her…I love her…it's too late for me…_

He couldn't kill her. It was impossible. He loved her already. He couldn't kill someone he loved.

"Hey, are you the new student?"

Ash's breath caught in his throat. It was her. He turned around.

"Y-yeah." His voice came out hoarse and choked. "I-I'm Ash Ketchum."

"I'm Misty Waterflower," the girl responded with a friendly smile. Ash clenched his fist to keep from crying out.

_You knew me! You loved me! You couldn't have forgotten me!_

"Are you alright?" Misty asked in confusion.

_Am I still breathing have I lost that feeling  
Am I made of glass 'cause you see right through me  
I don't know who I am and you're the only one who sees that  
I can't ask these questions that cannot be answered today_

"I-I'm fine," Ash said, his voice choking in his throat. Misty looked at him through narrowed green eyes.

"Seriously, are you alright?" she repeated, suspicion creeping into her voice.

_I have to kill you! Go away! I don't _want_ to kill you!_ Ash stepped back.

"Leave me alone," he said, his voice rasping. "Go away. I don't want to hurt you."

"Hurt me?" Misty's eyes flashed. "Like you could!" Ash took another step back and realized the cold creeping down his back was something he had never experienced: fear.

"I…forgive me," he whispered.

"Hey, Ash!" Gary called, jogging over to him. "Oh, hey, Waterflower." Misty turned to face him.

"How do you know my name?" Misty asked with surprise.

"Eh, long story." Ash envied Gary's smooth way of talking. Now Misty suspected there was something wrong with him (Ash) and he had no way of changing that impression.

"Anyways, Ash and I haven't finished our breakfasts so we'll see you in a bit, Waterflower," Gary went on, jerking his head at Ash. "C'mon, Ash."

Ash followed silently, casting a backwards look at the fiery orange-haired girl, who looked down at the ground and bent down to pick somethingsparkling up. Ash's eyes widened in alarm as he realized what it was. His heart sank.

_An A-shaped piece of NeverMeltIce_.

* * *

**Misty's POV** (same time as earlier, just from her point of view)

Misty gazed into the face of Ash Ketchum. He was the type most girls would cry out was 'handsome', but she wasn't the type.

Or was she? Why did her heart beat fast suddenly and her face flush?

Then she realized Ash had clenched his fist and had a look of pain and grief on his face, so terrible that it won her heart over at once.

"Are you alright?" she asked, surprised and confused. She didn't believe his response at all.

"Seriously, are you alright?" she pressed.

"Leave me alone," Ash whispered, his voice hoarse. "Go away. I don't want to hurt you."

_What? How could that guy hurt me?_

"Hurt me?" Misty demanded. "Like you could!" She made it clear to Ash that she was scoffing.

"I…forgive me." Misty looked at Ash, baffled.

_Who is he? Do I…know him?_

When Gary came over and practically dragged Ash away, Misty took no notice of that. What she _did_ take notice of was a flash of blue-white that fell from Ash's pocket onto the courtyard stone.

"It can't be," she whispered. It was a piece of A-shaped ice, and Misty knew all too well what—or rather, _who_—it symbolized.

_Dawn, May, and Leaf need to know about this,_ Misty decided.

But she hesitated. Just because Ash _had_ the piece of ice doesn't mean that he was an Ice-type, an Assassin…right?

"Misty? What's wrong?" Misty looked up and found out she was looking at Barry.

"Um…nothing," Misty replied, quickly pocketing the piece of ice. Barry's orange eyes narrowed.

"Misty, I used to be an Assassin. Let me see that." Misty reluctantly handed it over.

"NeverMeltIce?" Barry looked around. "Misty…"

Misty opened her mouth to defend Ash when fortunately Dawn came walking over to them.

"Hey, guys!" she greeted cheerfully. "What's up?"

"Nothing, don't worry," Barry said, his demeanor changing instantly. "If I find out that you didn't make it to class on time, I'm fining you a million dollars!"

"Good luck!" Dawn yelled to him as Barry ran towards his own class. Dawn laughed and turned to Misty. "Let's go. I don't want him shouting at me to pay him the million dollars."

Misty laughed too—though quieter—and the two girls caught up with May and Leaf.

Misty cast a look back behind her shoulder. Barry had thrown the piece of ice down onto the ground and stepped on it, making the A-shape splinter into tiny particles of ice.

* * *

"We're in trouble," Ash said as he flung his backpack down on the ground beside him as he picked at his breakfast.

"Yeah, Ashy-boy's completely in love with Ms. Waterflower," Gary snickered. Ash ignored him.

"Thanks to Gary, I accidentally dropped the ice." Drew's and Victoria's eyes widened.

"And Misty picked it up," Victoria said. "Ash." He nodded, confirming her statement. "Oh no."

"Class time! Go to class, students!" A teacher called. Ash grabbed his backpack and raced down to his class.

His teacher introduced him to the class. Ash didn't see the students since he kept his gaze on the ground.

"The only empty seat here is beside Ms. Waterflower," the teacher said. "Ketchum, you'll be sitting beside her."

Ash cursed his bad luck and made his way to sit beside Misty.

"That piece of ice was sculpted with skill," Misty commented when the students started discussing Pokémon. "Did a friend sculpt it for you, since it was an A?"

Ash silently thanked Ho-oh that it was him who had dropped it and not Gary. "Yeah."

"Odd to carry ice around," Misty remarked. Ash's face flushed as she accidentally brushed her hand against his as she reached for the paper being handed back to them.

Somehow, Ash managed to get out of class without it being _too_ obvious he was consciously aware of himself all the time beside Misty. He had been so focused on keeping himself a distance away from Misty (though it was close to impossible since he could only be half an inch away from her unless he fell off of his chair) that he had forgotten that Paul, Gary, Drew, and Victoria were in the same room as he was.

"Next time," Ash hissed, "You guys are going in first." They shrugged innocently at Ash's red face.

* * *

Misty caught up to Ash during lunch time and asked him casually about the lesson. Unfortunately for him, he had three classes before lunch and Misty had been in two of them.

_Stop talking! I'm going to have to kill you and move on!_ Ash raged in his mind, though he politely responded.

_Baby, don't talk to me  
I'm trying to let go  
Not loving you is harder than you know  
Cause girl you're driving me so crazy_

"Hey, Misty, I want to ask you something," May called. Misty went over to her friend and Ash breathed a sigh of relief.

_And if you don't want me than  
I guess I'll have to go  
Not loving you is harder than you know  
Girl You're driving me so crazy_

"What's up with you now, Ashy-boy?" Gary asked him, surprised. "I thought you liked talking with Waterflower." Ash rounded on his friends in anger.

"You don't understand!" he shouted. "_I love her_. _I would die for her. I can't kill her._"

* * *

Well, Ash admitted his feelings for Misty. How will his friends react, and what will Ash do now that his personal truth is revealed? And how will Barry face Misty of what he suspects?

Next chapter is featuring Leaf, mainly, and some Paul and Dawn confrontations.

Review please.


	10. Hatred

**~ .A. .S. .S. .A. .S. .S. .I. .N. ~ .G. .U. .A. .R. .D. .I. .A. .N. .S. ~**

* * *

_"You don't understand!" he shouted. "I love her. I would die for her. I can't kill her."_

"You do? You…_love_ Misty?" Paul demanded, using the word 'love' as if he was referring to something disgusting. His tone was furious.

Victoria knew it. She thought for a moment and figured out where each person was in their emotions. Gradually, she narrowed it down to this:

_Paul: hates Dawn and wants to kill her, and Dawn is blind to his hatredand can't help herself from being annoyed by him and unconsciously is falling for him._

_Drew: loves May but is torn between his love for her and his stronger duty, while May is confused about Drew._

_Gary__: blind to his love for Leaf, but whois a perfect match for him._

_Ash: is totally in love with Misty and is angry because of his Assassin position._

Ash glared at Paul. "I do. I'm not going to kill her. You'll have to go through me first."

Paul snarled at him and turned around, abruptly walking out the cafeteria.

"Whoa…since when has Paul been angry like that?" Gary asked, sounding uneasy.

Ash glared after Paul, his furious gaze fixed on his plate. He then glared up at Drew and Gary. "What are _you_ going to say?" he demanded heatedly. The lighter-brown portion of his eyes were more visible, which meant he was in an emotional state.

Gary had been Ash's best friend almost since they were born. Since before they became Assassins, since before all this mess started. He knew how Ash felt and what he's thinking most of the time, but this was the exception. It was pretty safe to say Gary was stunned.

"We have to kill them," Victoria replied. "Well, you guys have to, actually."

"I'm not killing Misty!" Ash shouted at her. "I can't!"

"Then we can switch the girls," Drew suggested. Ash's eyes flamed.

"I mean I don't want to see her die!" Ash spat, and raced out the door.

It went against how they were supposed to feel, but Gary surprisingly felt the same way as Ash did. Leaf didn't deserve to die. He needed to find out why the Commander wanted them to kill them so much. Dawn's murder would be understandable, and maybe even Misty's and May's, but Leaf…just was innocent. Why would she be mixed up in this?

Gary wondered how Ash was feeling. He felt sympathy; Ash's 'love' seemed to be angry and a swirl of emotions that upset him and change him from his usual act. Gary wondered…if _he_ was feeling as Ash did, maybe less of a raging love, however, and it was Leaf…would _he_ would kill the Commander and sacrifice himself for her?

* * *

Leaf looked over to Ash as he was shouting at his friends, and she caught a fragment of his words.

_"Kill her"_ he shouted. Leaf's eyes widened. Kill her? The 'her' was obviously Misty…but Ash wouldn't hurt her, much less kill her, would he?

"What did you hear?" Dawn asked Leaf, looking over to Ash.

"'Kill her,'" Leaf replied dully. Dawn shook her head.

"I heard, 'Can't kill her,'" Dawn corrected. Leaf's eyes widened and then went back to its regular size in an instant.

"I'm going to find out what's happening," Leaf said determinedly. "Wish me luck, Dawn."

"Good luck," Dawn replied automatically, giving Leaf a hug.

_I'll need it_, Leaf thought as she went to her room.

* * *

"Okay, to lay out the facts," Leaf said aloud to herself as she lay on her stomach on her bed, a hard-cover notebook and pencil in front of her. She promised herself to burn the paper she wrote on when she was finished.

"Let me help," Misty said, coming in. "I've had a…history of the Assassins."

"Me too," Barry added, following her. His usual cheerfulness was gone, and Leaf was shocked at how different Barry was.

"Okay then." Leaf wrote at the top of the page.

"Hey, Leaf, I wouldn't do that if I were you," Misty cried out quickly, and pulled Leaf's pencil out of her hand. "Pull out the paper and wrote on the cover of the notebook, so you don't leave any mark behind." Misty pulled out the paper and pointed to the paper behind the one Leaf had written on. The 'A' was apparent in an imprint on the next page.

"Oh, whoa. I never knew that," Leaf muttered, and closed the notebook. She placed the piece of paper on top and continued writing '**_Assassin Information_'** on the top of the page.

"Okay, so what kind of information do you need?" Misty asked, leaning back. Leaf tapped the end of the pencil against her chin thoughtfully.

"Um…" She quickly wrote **_Assassin Evidence_**, on one side, and **_Assassin Disapproval_** on the other.

"Disapproval?" Barry repeated.

"Hey, it works," Leaf replied.

"So…the boys have been acting weird," Misty said. "You can put that in the middle." Leaf nodded and wrote it in.

**_-Boys acting weird around us_**

"'Us'?"****Barry demanded. "What do you mean by 'us'?"

"Uh, by me, Misty, May, and Dawn," Leaf said, surprised at the sudden change of attitude of her friend.

"Not a good sign," he muttered, leaning back against May's bed.

"What's not good?" Misty asked sharply. "Barry. I know you were once an Elite member of the Assassins. _Spill_."

"What?" Leaf exclaimed. "Barry, you were once an Assassin? I don't believe it."

"I was one, too," Misty said quietly. "Just not an Elite, but near that position." Leaf gaped, looking from one to another.

"Are you two…related?" she questioned shakily. Misty and Barry shook their heads.

"Just close friends," Misty replied. She turned to Barry. "I think May and Dawn should know this."

"_I_ kinda already do…" May's voice called a little sheepishly from behind the door adjoining Misty's and Dawn's room to Leaf's and May's.

"Get over here," Barry called. "Or I'm fining you a million dollars!" May stepped through the door.

"Sorry, but I was wondering what was wrong," May apologized.

"Alright, this is the scoop," Misty elaborated. "Paul, Drew, Gary, a-and A…Ash…" Her voice choked in her throat as she tried to continue.

"Are the Ice-types, the most Elite group of the Elite members of the Assassin organization," Barry finished bluntly. May's eyes widened.

"I know Drew is," she mused. "He and I were friends when we were younger. I guess…I guess it was easy to say back then I loved him. But he moved away, and my parents and younger brother had no recollection of him…so I assumed he had finally left for good to the Assassin organization. I had went into his house, looking for him…" May was lost in her memories. "That was probably the turning point."

"Turning point?"

_FLASHBACK_

_A younger May went to Drew's home back in Petalburg City. She knocked on the door and found that it was ajar._

_'Maybe Drew's inside?' May thought to herself. Maycautiously went in and walked quietly into Drew's room. Shocked, she saw the many papers that contained the word 'Assassins' on it. In disbelief, she shuffled through the papers._

_There was a detailed list of previous murders, some that May recalled from the news. It hadn't been in Drew's handwriting, but it was obvious that it was about Drew…_

_Frightened, she ran out of the house. Unfortunately, the door slammed shut behind her with a loud noise._

_END_

"Oh boy," Leaf muttered. She wrote in the 'Assassin Evidence' side: **_Drew is Assassin (confirmed by May who knew firsthand)_**.

"Paul is the killer of Dawn's parents," Misty continued bleakly. "He…was sent by the Commander of the Assassins."

"Do you know the identity?" May asked Misty curiously. Misty swallowed and shook her head.

"No…but Barry does." They turned to look at Barry.

"So many memories," he murmured. Then he looked up at the girls. "The identity is known by few, and only shown to those who will die in a matter of minutes. I managed to escape."

"Who is it?" Misty asked.

"Why do you need to know?"

* * *

Dawn looked around and realized with surprise that Misty, May, and Barry were gone as well as Leaf, who had gone to her room. Not that she was surprised.

She looked over to the new students. They were pretty impressive, and the purple-haired one was intimidating. Somehow, she felt as if she knew him, but she didn't recall seeing him.

He snarled at the raven-haired boy and stalked out of the room, his stance obviously angry. Dawn shot a look at his friends—the raven-haired boy, the spiky-haired boy, the green-haired boy and the black-haired girl—and followed him.

"What's wrong? Why are you angry?" Dawn called, almost running to keep up with his fast, strong strides. He turned to glare at her but Dawn was undaunted. "Is it something the raven-haired boy did?"

The purple-haired boy stopped, turned around, and glared full-force at her, causing her to step back. "Leave me alone," he growled, turning around once more and continuing on his way.

"But I want to help," she protested, trying to keep up.

"Troublesome girl."

"I'm serious!" Dawn persisted.

"You'll help me better by leaving me alone."

"That's no way of helping someone!" Dawn cried.

"It'll help me."

"But—" Dawn didn't understand why the boy—_Paul_, she remembered—kept blowing her off.

"Just leave me alone," Paul snapped. "Annoying girl. _Stop following me!"_

Dawn was about to protest again when Paul turned and fixed her with his intimidating glare once more. She finally took the hint and stayed standing where she was instead of trailing after Paul.

_Stop following me._

Where had she heard those words?

_Stop following me!_

Many years ago…her darkest memories. The ones she didn't recall…

**_Stop following me!_**

Her head throbbed. Maybe she'd go lie down and see if that would help.

* * *

_Why do you need to know?_

"Well…I have a hunch about that Victoria girl," Misty said uneasily. "I have a feeling she's very well-connected to the Commander."

"She is," Barry replied. "But yet she's not an Elite."

"So, that means?" Leaf asked impatiently.

"So it's not right. There's something wrong about it," Barry sighed.

"Yeah…why would Victoria be related to the Commander if she isn't an Elite?" Misty asked. Her eyes widened. "Unless…unless…it can't be."

"What? What can't be?" May cried.

"Have you ever seen the Commander, Barry?" Misty was grinning—she had obviously solved the problem.

"Uh, yeah….why?"

"Does he have black hair and dark eyes?" Misty prodded. Barry's eyes widened as well as he came to the conclusion.

"Yes he does," Barry responded.

"That must be it!" Leaf exclaimed. "_Victoria__ is the Commander's daughter!"_

* * *

Paul looked over his shoulder after the 'troublesome' girl. He remembered her name: Dawn. Dawna Berlitz. The daughter of the Berlitz couple who were his first victims. He growled under his breath as he recalled the reason why. They had been trusted members of the Assassin organization, but had betrayed them, putting the Commander in a terrible position.

Revenge was always the base of the Assassin murders. Paul was sent to kill Mr. and Mrs. Berlitz, and kill River and his meddling younger sister if they were present. 'Shadow' had successfully murdered Mr. and Mrs. Berlitz and River had been put to death by Paul's and the Commander's combined attacks. But the annoying younger sister, Nessa, had escaped. The last Paul had ever seen of her was her hair billowing behind her as 'Missy' had dragged her to safety.

His fists clenched and tightened. The Commander had sent them on this mission on false pretenses. He had proclaimed (it was surely a he, wasn't it?) that the girls' parents had killed _their_ parents…but what did they care for that? An old debt was an old debt and was better discarded than held onto.

Paul was reluctant to admit it, but the Commander was a genius. Whereas Paul had no idea of the Commander's true reasons for sending them to assassinate the girls, the Commander had placed them carefully.

Each Assassin was perfect against the girl they had chosen to kill. The Commander knew the girl they would choose, and therefore sent _them_ to do the task instead of any other Elite members or any other group.

Paul started sorting through the information in his mind as he leaned against a tree, gazing without seeing across the school grounds.

Drew was perfect for the job of murdering May in cold blood. He had known May before when he was younger and had once loved her, but had stopped loving her. Drew resisted her when his position as an Assassin became priority over loving May, and had almost succeeded with wiping out her memories. Unfortunately, he failed, but had managed to keep the tie hidden for more than two years. May was blinded by Drew since her love has obviously not faded over the years, and made Drew's task easier to complete. 'Forest' was a perfect code name for him, for he kept his feelings dense and was shrouded in how he truly felt, along with seeming to mock those that had gotten lost in the trees while often pointing out paths for those intelligent enough to find the concealed trails leading out.

Gary versus Leaf was often thought of. It was a challenge for both, since Gary has never met Leaf, even before he had joined with the Assassins. The Commander knew as well as the rest of the Ice-types that Gary hadn't had a challenge in many missions and was getting too cocky for his own good, which was a trait valued in small portions only in the Assassin standards. Leaf provided a perfect chance for Gary to prove himself. Leaf, too, was a perfect match for Gary unknowingly. 'Auburn' was an ideal code name for Gary, other than the fact that it was indeed the color of Gary's own hair, the color auburn is tinged with two colors, indicating that Gary had two sides: one red, one brown. Gary preferred showing the more common 'color'—brown—and was similar in those aspects (the color and preferred shade) to the color auburn.

Ash was always acting dumb. The stupid one, the dense one, and the one with his 'head in the sky'. He was just right for Misty, because the fiery carrot-top would be paying _him_ special attention since he got her angry unnecessarily almost all of the time. The Commander specially placed Ash in the position of accepting Misty as his victim (as picked unconsciously by Drew and Paul), _knowing full-well_ that Ash would somehow either grow fond of Misty or fall in love with her, ruining the mission, or causing him to act rashly and kill to get her out of his life, or gain better intellect and manage to overcome his emotions, or even destroy himself with the raging feelings that threatened to overcome _him_. 'Sky' was the right code name for Ash, one who caused the turbulence without managing to prevent or start it and being blamed for it without his own consent or defense, and whose judgment was sometimes clear, and sometimes cloudy. He often went between being cheerful (sunny), dense (cloudy), angry (lightning), protective (not as much; thunderstorms), and cold (snowing).

Now for himself. Paul, who was named 'Shadow'. Anyone who knew him would agree that it fit him. A shadow was pretty much just darkness and often was blocking the heat, making it cold, which described Paul perfectly. He was cold and hateful, and never showed any emotion other than necessary, and didn't usually get angry. Dawn was bubbly, cheerful, and blind to the tragedies of the world, the complete opposite of Paul. The Commander _knew_ that Dawn wouldn't remember, but her friends Barry and Misty would. And that Paul would find out about River and Dawn and everything and want to kill her. On the contrary, the Commander didn't expect it to happen: Paul didn't _exactly_ want to kill her. Sure, he hated her, and wanted nothing to do with her. But he sure didn't want to kill her…or would he? It was revenge, and that _was_ the base of the Assassin motives…

Unfortunately, 'shadow' can also mean protection or a sanctuary, which was the category that Paul was feeling right now.

_All the feelings that I get  
But I still don't miss you yet_

_Only when I stop to think about it_

He groaned and shook his head, trying to clear it. He had to find out why Dawn was mixed up in this. She had no recollection of the murders…well, not much. Was it because the Commander was _afraid_ that Dawn would find out on her own?

_I hate everything about you  
Why do I love you  
I hate everything about you  
Why do I love you_

Paul didn't know why, but he _did_ hate her. There wasn't a specific reason to why he felt that way, but he did. Maybe it's because the first murder he committed was a nightmare, and Dawn brought back memories of it. Or maybe it was because Dawn was the one who inflicted his wound so many years ago…

But that didn't mean he loved her! He hated her so much…didn't he?

_Only when I stop to think  
About you, I know  
Only when you stop to think  
About me, do you know_

* * *

Dawn went into her room and heard Misty, Leaf, May, and Barry talking on the other side. She pushed open the door.

"Hello?" she asked tentatively as she poked her head into the room.

"Dawn!" May came over to her and gave her a hug.

"What's wrong?" Dawn inquired, surprised.

"Burn that page," Misty directed Leaf, who looked at Dawn.

"Could you bring out your Cyndaquil?" Leaf requested, and Dawn did so.

"Quil!" Cyndaquil's back flared up and reduced the paper to nothing.

"Thanks, Cyndaquil," Dawn thanked cheerily, returning it and pocketing the Poké Ball.

"Dawn, there's something you need to know," Barry told her. "Unless you want to die, of course."

"Die?" Dawn looked at him with horror. "What?"

"Yeah, die. Dawn, do you remember anything that happened in the past?" Misty asked.

Dawn closed her eyes. "Darkness, a forest, a scream, and…" Her eyes flew open at once. "River," she whispered. "Who's River?"

"Lucas," Misty replied softly.

"Assassins!" Dawn cried. "I recognize…Barry, Misty…and…Paul?"

Her eyes were filled with tears of anger and grief. "Mom and Dad were killed by Paul's hand, weren't they?"

"They were," Misty agreed sadly. "Barry, Lucas, and I were all Assassins."

"What?" Dawn exclaimed.

"We were Assassins but we left them and betrayed them," Barry added with a hint of mischief in his voice.

"Oh boy," Dawn muttered. "So you're guessing that Paul, Drew, Gary, and Ash came to kill us?"

"Unfortunately, yeah," May sighed.

"I hate Paul!" Dawn cried. "He's an Assassin, he's cruel, and he's the one that is responsible for my family's death!" Tears rolling down her face, she raced out the room.

"That went well," Leaf remarked bitterly.

"Let's see what happens," Misty sighed.

* * *

Dawn flashed past Paul and he could hear her crying. She collapsed a few feet away from him and Paul could hear everything she whispered.

"Hate…love…thought…wrong…" Dawn murmured.

Paul went over to her, deliberately making his steps loud. Dawn shot up and cried out when she realized who it was.

Barry and Misty had told her.

"Get away from me!" Dawn screamed. Paul rolled his eyes.

"If you wanted to keep it a secret that you knew who I was, that's really discreet," he said sarcastically. Dawn's eyes widened and she stepped back.

"Go away!" she shouted. Paul didn't move.

"Relax, I'm not going to kill you…yet." Paul grumbled. Dawn stepped back once more.

"That's comforting," she muttered.

"Good to know," Paul retorted. He stuck his hands in his pockets and turned around, walking towards the boys' dormitory.

"Jerk!" Dawn yelled. "I hate you!" Somehow, though, she knew that there was some part inside of her that hated the thought of merely hating the Assassin...some part of her that loved him.

_I hate everything about you  
Why do I love you  
You hate everything all about me  
Why do you love me_

I hate  
You hate  
I hate  
You love me

I hate everything about you  
Why do I love you

* * *

Phew, finally over! Longest chapter so far in this story…I think.

Anyways, I guess this chapter is named well…hatred.

Review please!

Who do you think the Commander is? And do you think Victoria will betray the Ice-types?


	11. AUTHOR'S NOTE!

**Don't get freaked out but I am closing this earlymorninglight12 account forever. I will not return and answer questions by this account.**

**DON'T PANIC OR WONDER, 'cause I have an explanation ready for you:**

**I feel restricted on this account. It may seem really stupid but that's how I feel. On my other account, AuthorOfHope, it will be better. Stories will get posted on it soon enough when the account gets unlocked (I made it just an hour ago). Everything is explained in greater detail on my profile, and on the AuthorOfHope profile too.**

**Thanks! Don't worry, I'll still be updating the stories on my profile.  
**


End file.
